Hidden Treasure
by LegendaryStrawberry
Summary: The most precious treasure on Earth is seen with the heart, not the eyes. NaruHina with some SasuSaku mixed in a little later.
1. Naruto Golf

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Spoilers through Christmas 2008 in manga. This is my second work. I'm doing this while I decide whether to or not to continue with "Conquest of the Heart". Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Flames will be used for a toasting marshmallows. Thank you and enjoy.

The orange tint of the morning sun crept in through the window of Konoha's number one surprising ninja. It inched across the room until it reached his bed and eventually his eyes, which earned it a cold shoulder and a grumbling Uzumaki. Just as sleep was beginning to retake his consciousness, a loud thump came at the door. There was only one person he knew that would knock that loud this early in the morning. Speaking of which, he glanced over at the clock to realize it was ten AM.

"She's gonna kill me!", Naruto realized as he slid out of bed. When I say he slid out of bed, I mean he tried to get out of bed as quickly as possible, but tripped himself up on his bed sheets, somehow managed to land on his feet, but stumbled over a chair on its side and landed flat on his face.

"Naruto U-zu-ma-ki, I know you're in there. I heard that thump." Sakura shouted through the door. "You know we've had this training session planned for weeks with Yamamoto. "You're going to get a punch for every minute you make me wait." Sakura threatened.

Naruto's eyes were as big as saucers now and he swore that he had to have set a new world speed record for getting dressed and ready.

"Three", Sakura spoke as they headed away from his little apartment. Naruto had never been so scared of a number in all his life, even when he was at the academy and they had handed out the tests which looked like some sort of foreign language to him.

As they headed up the road to the training ground he felt a little relieved that he hadn't gotten his punishment from Sakura yet.

"Maybe she was just pulling my leg and didn't really mean it", he thought hopefully to himself. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind, than a fist quickly ended his optimism knocking him a third of the way to the training that he was over an hour late for.

Sakura had insane control over how much strength she used… most of the time. She wound up and knocked him another third of the way. She chuckled to herself a little, thinking about the new game she had created "Naruto Golf". She was a little less angry with him after her first two strokes, but she still thought that she better not skimp or he'd think she was going soft on him. She couldn't bear to think of what he'd say if he saw her give an inch. In addition to being the most surprising ninja, he must also be Konoha's number one thick-headed ninja, which worked out well when she wanted to dole out punishment. A lesser shinobi might die from the punches she threw.

She found him lying on a cart of straw with a very confused farmer who had just saw a shinobi fall from the sky. Halfway considering letting him off and just dragging his sorry butt the rest of the way, she decided she might as well finish the hole. She couldn't see the grounds exactly due to the trees, but she'd been there o many times that she guessed at it and knocked him skyward. Unfortunately, she hadn't been playing her new game long and had a wicked slice landing him smack dab in the middle of a squad 8 training session notably on top of a very surprised Hinata Hyuga.

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Thanks for reading. As you can tell this is going to be more than a one-shot. Please review. It gives me motivation to write the next chapter quickly. This will have some SasuSaku in later chapters, but its going to stay focused mostly on NaruHina. I can't rule out more pairings popping up as time goes by.


	2. Salts and the Wounds

Disclaimer: See first chapter for reference. Sorry Sakura fans if I made her a little OOC with the golf, but it was too funny to resist.

Naruto and Hinata were left unconscious by the unexpected arrival of Naruto from above. Shino and Kiba gaped at the sight of their comrade out cold with her noisy crush stacked on top of her and nearly forgot they were running at each other at full speed.

"We… better get those two apart or she's going to have a heart attack when she wakes up" Kiba said half-stifling laughter. Shino nodded and pushed up his shades.

Before they could get to her Naruto started to wake up from Sakura's beating. Blue eyes flickered from behind their shades. He felt something soft under him and felt glad that he landed in something soft again like the straw from earlier, but was soon aware of this soft thing's breathing. His eyes darted down to the unconscious lavender clad person under him. Their eyes met and he and jumped back as quickly as he could blushing as red as Sakura's uniform. Hinata's mind finally processed what had happened and she fainted again sporting a shade of red unknown to mankind before or since.

Naruto, though tough, was not unscathed by his journey. His hasty retreat had revealed that his leg had taken an odd turn upon landing and was in quite a lot of pain. He grimaced as he brought himself to an upright position against a nearby tree, holding his injured leg.

Shino and Kiba flew to their unconscious friend. Reaching into his cloak, Shino produced a vile of smelling salts as Kiba produced a clothespin, which he promptly placed over his nose. If he hadn't been so worried about Hinata's health, he might have had a full-on belly laugh from the scene the two were making so calmly. Shino unleashed the salts and Hinata seemed to slowly return to the waking world. She attempted to sit up, but found her left arm to be injured and unable to support the slightest bit of movement without pain.

"Is she okay" Naruto shouted to the two that he had observed so closely.

"Szhe sneems fine except foer her armn", Kiba said through the clothespin.

Naruto was reaching his limit on how long he could hold in his laughter. Kiba quickly noticed the barely suppressed grin on his face and small snickers escaping from Naruto and removed the mask only to realize that Shino hadn't put the smelling salts away yet and quickly reclamped his nose. This was too much for the injured shinobi as he burst into a belly laugh that could be heard for quite a ways. Shino quickly capped the salts, much to the relief of his teammate who removed and hid the clothespin. Hinata who had by this time had fully regained her faculties giggled at her teammate.

"You think its funny punk?" Kiba railed at Naruto.

"Maybe I do dog breath" the blonde ninja shot back.

"I'll get you for that!" Kiba shouted as he started at Naruto.

"Bring it on" Naruto yelled back, but as he started to stand his leg quickly reminded him of his injury and brought him back to his seat.

"Pfft we'll settle this as soon as your leg gets better. Its no fun taking someone down who can't fight back" Kiba teased.

Sakura finally found Naruto in a heap on the ground as she entered the clearing of the training ground verbally sparring with Kiba.

"Your leg is injured?" Tsunade's apprentice asked the shinobi at her feet.

"It's not that bad." Naruto grimaced. "Check on Hinata first" he said indicating the recumbent girl in the middle of the field.

Sakura went quickly to Hinata's side. It was one thing to beat up Naruto, but she had gotten an innocent bystander injured. Naruto Golf had seen its first and last hole being played simultaneously. She went over Hinata checking for injuries from head to toe.

Hinata barely heard the words minor concussion and fractured arm as her head was swimming with Naruto. He put her before himself. Maybe it was guilt. Maybe it didn't hurt as bad as it looked, but maybe it was something more. It was hope, and though it was slim, it was something she could hold onto.

Sakura noticed her dreamy state and figured at the cause, Naruto. With a grin, she stabilized Hinata's injuries and sent her away with her teammates to the hospital. She got to Naruto's side, examined his leg for injury, and found it to be minor, well for him anyway. He'd need a days rest in the hospital, but he'd be fine afterwards. At this, her grin grew a bit more. Sakura had a way to kill two birds with one stone.


	3. A Conspicuous Arrangement

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

*smacks his own forehead* I just realized I called Yamato Yamamoto in the first chapter and for that I apologize. Doing a Bleach and Naruto fic at the same time can be a bit weird.

*Sakura smacks me on the back of the head*

"Ow! What?"

"I'm the one you made say the wrong thing baka!"

"I see. Hmm" *I scratch out something on my pad*

"Wait, what was that?"

"Nothing"

"Wait. Did that say Sasuke and I…?"

"Yep"

"Maybe I overreacted a little"

"Its okay, I'll put it back in. hehe Now on with "Hidden Treasure" Chapter 3!"

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Sakura had a grin on her face that worried Naruto. He had never seen her really grin at an injury; much less, two that she'd caused herself. She was up to something, but he couldn't imagine what it could be.

"Well you'll need to stay in the hospital for at least 24 hours to make sure the wound heals correctly baka."

"How's Hinata?" Naruto questioned Sakura as she finished securing his leg.

"She has a broken arm and a mild concussion. She's lucky she isn't injured more than that though. Since it's your fault she's in that condition you're going to help with her treatment."

"My fault! You were the one who sent me sky high with that freakish punch of yours!"

"Yeah, but that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been so irresponsible about coming to practice on time like we'd agreed on. I swear you are getting to be just like Kakashi-sensei in that regard."

Naruto knew that any further pushing would just land him in more pain from an angry Sakura, injury or no injury.

"So what will I need to do?" Naruto mumbled in defeat as the two moved towards the hospital.

"It's simple really. We need Hinata to stay awake for twelve hours, so that if any neurological problems develop they will show themselves. The quicker we discover them the easier it is to treat them and the more likely the treatment will be effective."

"It's only ten thirty. Shouldn't she be able to stay up on her own that long" Naruto said picking holes in her logic.

"You keeping her awake and talking to her is the easiest way for everyone involved. If you weren't doing it, some medic ninja would be occupied checking in on her and not helping other patients. Besides, you have to be in for 24 hour anyways "Sakura finished as they approached the hospital desk. Sakura quickly gave the attendant some instructions after placing Naruto on a chair on the opposite side of the room. The nurse seemed to grin and wink, which made Naruto a little more nervous.

"Right this way Uzumaki-san." the nurse chirped as she helped him to his feet and down the hall to his room.

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Hinata relaxed on her hospital bed watching the birds go by. She was more comfortable now that she felt she had some privacy and could remove her jacket to cool down. Her teammates and Tsunade had left and now the room was filled with silence saving the chirp of the birds and the hum of the air conditioner. The peace in the room was quickly shattered by the opening of the door and the entrance of Konoha's loudest shinobi. She swiftly hid herself under the blanket, allowing only her eyes and the top of her head to protrude from underneath the covers. "What was Naruto-kun doing here? Weren't these double rooms supposed to be one sex only?" her mind raced as the blood hit her cheeks.

"Oww" Naruto grimaced as he was helped onto the bed.

"Oh grow up" Sakura said to her teammate as she drew the curtains around the patient and showed the injury to the hokage. Tsunade prodded and examined the leg much to the disdain of the blue-eyed shinobi.

"Looks like you'll be here for 24 hours just as Sakura said earlier. Sakura, can I have a word with you out in the hall?" Tsunade announced as she jotted something down on his chart. Sakura pulled back the curtain and headed out into the hall following Tsunade.

"S so Naruto, wh-hat are you doing in here?" Hinata questioned as she gained enough courage to peek most of her head out from the blanket.

"Sakura-chan said something about you having a concussion or something like that and that I needed to make sure you stayed awake, in case you got some kind of neuro-whatsit problem." Naruto answered as he leaned back against the headboard.

"I s-see" Hinata said as the nervousness waned just a little. Her mind still raced with thoughts of her lifelong crush that was only a few feet away from her.

"How are you and your cousin doing anyhow? Other than the arm of course. "Naruto questioned not wanting the room to go to that awkward silence he'd walked in on.

"Neji is fine, he's a jounin now, but you probably already knew that. I don't know for sure, but I think he's seeing Tenten. I've seen them together a lot lately even though they rarely have missions together anymore." she replied feeling a little more confident with the diversion.

"Hehe I'll have to mess with him on that", the prankster smiled and laughed. Even though he had matured somewhat, that mischievousness streak went straight down to the bone.

"So what's up with you?"

"Not much, just the usual, missions, training, etc."

"Do you still turn red and faint all the time?" Naruto asked remembering as much as he could about the person in the next bed.

"No, not as much since you left" Hinata answered fidgeting with and looking down at the blanket. She wasn't lying after all; she had only fainted once while he was away. She had gone to visit Sakura to return a book she had borrowed and while she was there Sakura had received a letter. Naruto had sent her a letter from his journeys, which wouldn't have done it, but Naruto had included a picture of himself holding a massive fish with no shirt on. It was more than she could bare and she got a nosebleed and fainted. It's a good thing Sakura's parents weren't home at the time or she might have had a lot of explaining to do.

"Did you ever figure out why you kept fainting all of a sudden like that?" Naruto said casually. Little did Naruto know how much weight that question held for Hinata and for him.

Hinata fumbled with her hands, completely forgetting about the blanket, as she started and stopped what seemed like one-hundred times. Finally, she brought forth every ounce of confidence, bravery, and love and squeaked one word from her lips "you".

"What?!" a startled Naruto questioned.

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In the corridor, Tsunade and Sakura stood behind a pillar to avoid obstructing traffic.

"You know it's against hospital policies to have two people of opposite sex in the same room." Tsunade started.

"I know, but I intend to cure more than just their injuries"

"Oh? How so?" Tsunade asked, a little in disbelief.

"Well it's obvious that Hinata needs monitoring for the concussion and Naruto needs to stay for his leg, so that works out nicely. If you're worried about either one causing problems remember Naruto can't move without assistance and Hinata isn't exactly what I would call a temptress. If they do, I'll run 50 laps around the village. Also, Hinata is in love with Naruto and always has been for as long as I've known her. She just can't seem to vocalize it properly. I think if I put them in a room together for long enough she might gain a bit of courage and say something. After that, her fainting spells would be cured and maybe she'd get Naruto to leave me alone about a date as a bonus for me."

"Ugh teen drama" Tsunade said holding her forehead. "Alright you can keep them together, but I'm holding you to those 50 laps."

"Thanks Tsunade-sama!"

"Don't forget your new patient though"

"Not in a million years!" Sakura danced off as she headed towards the end of the hall.

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"Wait where's that thing you said you'd put in earlier?"

"Don't worry it gets first priority next chapter" *Shows Sakura the prewriting*

"Hell yeah!"

"I thought you'd like that."


	4. Hidden Treasures

Disclaimer: If you believe I own Naruto, I have some ocean front property in Arizona I'd like to sell you. Also, you might want to grab some tissues.

Sakura's dance quickly ended as she remembered the gravity of the situation of her new patient. She reached the end of the hall and was allowed to pass by the guards standing watch. She opened the door to find that the room was pitch dark.

"Sakura?" a weakened voice called from the hospital bed.

"Yes, why are you sitting in the dark?" she questioned as she turned on the lights revealing Sasuke with a roll of bandages around his eyes.

"You've been hanging around dobe too long if you can't figure that out" Sasuke joked. Sakura hadn't been told anything about his injuries other than that they were serious. He seemed to have some minor cuts and bruises, but the bandage concerned her the most.

"A family curse" he muttered before she could ask.

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_Flashback_

_Naruto and Sasuke squared off, both still reeling from the other's blow. _

"_Get out of my way dobe or I will kill you this time."_

"_Teme! You know I can't do that."_

"_Goodbye Naruto" Sasuke said with a touch of regret in his voice. He began to activate his mangekyo sharingan, but his target and his entire field of vision grew dark._

"_No! Not now! Not after I've come so far!" he gripped his face as he fell to his knees. He swung his blade recklessly, cursing his fortunes. Naruto could only look on in horror as his friend sat there vainly protecting himself with random sword swipes._

"_It's over Sasuke"_

"_No, I will avenge the Uchiha! That is my purpose! That is my life!"_

"_Not anymore" Naruto said as he knocked his long lost friend unconscious._

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_Sakura punched him gently in the arm as she went behind him and slowly removed the bandages. Black eyes searched the distance unable to find anything. Sakura checked his eyes, searching for the cause of his blindness._

"_Something destroyed the nerves in your eyes," she said flashing a light into one of his eyes and examining them. "You won't be able to see unless we get you a transplant," she said clutching the small light between her teeth and examining the tissue surrounding the eye._

"_I don't deserve one" the Uchiha dipped his head as she removed her hands. Sakura promptly slapped him with the back of her hand._

"_Oww. Why did you hit me?"_

"_Because you deserved it"_

"_No I didn't"_

"_You didn't deserve to live past your fight with Naruto then. He could have killed you if he wanted to, but he didn't."_

"_Well, he's an idiot."_

"_No, he isn't. He cares about you. You and I are the closest thing he's ever had to family. Frankly, I think Tsunade forbidding him is the only reason he hasn't busted through the guards and visited you yet. "_

"_He's still an idiot. I've done so much to him and he still doesn't give up on me."_

"_Then I must be an idiot too." Sakura said as she hugged Sasuke tightly._

"_I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered as he felt her arms enclose him and responded with his own._

"_Baka," Sakura whispered letting a single tear roll down her cheek. "Not all treasure can be seen with the eyes"_

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"_What?!" Naruto questioned._

"_It's because I've always loved you, even before we were genin. When you got too close I-I just couldn't handle it." Each word seemed lighter than the last as she felt the burden on her heart lift. She had overcome the hardest part like a kid that had reached the top of the stairs on a slide and was now only coasting down its smooth surface. She was still a little flustered, as she had just done the one thing that she had wanted to do since she was at the academy, but had never found the right moment or enough courage to do so._

"_Are you ok Hinata?" he said questioning if this was just a neuro-whatsit problem like Sakura had been worried about. _

"_If you don't believe me, I have something to show you," she said with an uneasy smile as she reached under her shirt and pulled out a necklace with a little golden locket attached. She stumbled a little, getting to her feet on one arm was more difficult than she imagined._

"_Don't push yourself Hinata!" Naruto tried to move towards her, but found that his leg had stranded him on his mattress island._

"_No, this is something I need to do." she said confidently moving towards him with eyes he had only seen her show at the chuunin exam. Naruto watched as she made it to his bed and knelt beside it._

"_Please unclasp it. I can't with my arm in this condition," she requested as she moved aside her hair. Naruto fumbled with the clasp a bit, each touch sending a shiver up her neck. He finally managed to unclip it and it fell into her hand._

"_I carry this with me always," she said as she showed him the inside of the heart-shaped container. Inside was a picture of him in a victory pose. She handed him the locket._

"_I don't need your answer right now. Just return it when you have made your decision. I'll wait as long as I need to." She said. She couldn't believe what he had done. Was it all a dream or had she finally done it? She finally reached her bed and carefully lifted herself back to rest._

_Naruto lay there in a state of astonishment at what lay in his hands. He wasn't sure what to do, but he had to at least think about it. How could he have been so dense all this time? He could only imagine what she had gone through watching him chase Sakura all these years when her heart had only belonged to Sasuke._

"_I don't know that I can answer you today or even within a week, but I will answer you." he said clutching the tiny heart within his palm._

"_That's fine. Take the time you need. I want your true feelings. I'll wait as long as I have to." she said, her heart beating a mile a minute._

"_Thank you" he said rubbing the little heart._

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_Phew, that was a lot of romance for one chapter! Anyway, please review!_


	5. Lost and Found

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Not even the ramen ingredient! Thanks for the reviews. I hope you are all having as much fun reading this as I'm having writing it.

The birds chirped and the air conditioner hummed. The kunoichi's stomach felt like a butterfly convention was being held in there. It wasn't as bad as she had feared, but she was still a little shaky.

Naruto sat in the relative silence half disturbed by it and half lost in thought about what had just happened. Unable to come to a decision about the latter, he strove to get rid of the awkwardness in the room.

"So…uh how long have those two been doing the salts and clothespin routine?" Naruto said rubbing the back of his head, trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't know really. They're usually just fanning me when I wake up. It's probably the first time, but I can't say for sure. I guess they wanted to try something new."

"Well you'd swear they were a manzai duo if you didn't know any better." Naruto said causing a small giggle to ripple from Hinata's mouth. The mood lightened, the two talked most of the afternoon about just about anything they could think of only stopping when someone accidentally tread on the elephant in the room and to eat.

That night, Hinata fell asleep first having some of the best dreams she'd ever had. Naruto, on the other hand, stared up at the ceiling unable to sleep. He tried everything from counting sheep to doing what little exercise his leg would allow him. Nothing seemed to help and the exercise just seemed to make it worse. Giving up on sleep for the moment, Naruto's eyes wandered to the sleeping form of Hinata. She seemed to be pretty happy as the moonlight gently caressed her features. There was something soothing there he couldn't put his finger on, but it slowly led to the weight on his eyelids becoming insurmountable and finally sleep came to the weary ninja.

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Morning came and with it an empty bed next to him. An attendant was readying the bed for the next patient.

"Where's Hinata?" a groggy Naruto asked.

"Hyuuga-san already left," the attendant replied as he replaced the sheets. "Haruno-san will be in in a moment after I notify her that you are awake"

"Okay" Naruto replied stretching a little and stifling a yawn.

The attendant did as he said he would and Sakura came to the room a few minutes later.

"Morning Naruto" Sakura said with a little grin. She checked over the injury poking and prodding it in much the same way as Tsunade had the day before. This was met with smaller grimaces than the day before by the Uzumaki.

"Well I'm releasing you today, but you should take it easy for a little while. I don't want you training for at least a week."

"Alright" Naruto said. Sakura was taken a bit aback by this. Naruto agreeing without a fight to no training for a week was something she'd never seen, not even if it was Tsunade giving the order. Naruto seemed very distracted like something was weighing on his mind. She had an idea with how distracted his counterpart had been.

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_Flashback [this time I'll remember to stop the italics]_

_Hinata sat on the edge of the bed as Sakura finished looking at the new X-rays. She giggled a little to herself as a sprawled out Naruto snored peacefully._

"_Well it seems to be healing well," Sakura said bringing Hinata's attention back around, "but I don't want you training for a couple weeks."_

"_Okay" she said absentmindedly._

"_Are you ok? You seem a bit lost."_

"_Oh no no no, I'm fine really." she waved her hand in front of her, but she couldn't hide the small blush rising in her cheeks. "If it's okay I'll go ahead and go home right now"_

"_Uh, sure" Sakura noticed the pink tinge. "I'm really sorry about yesterday. If you ever need a favor don't be afraid to ask." _

"_Okay" Hinata mumbled as she grabbed her bag and slipped out the door. Sakura had already done her the biggest favor she could imagine. If anything, she owed her._

_Sakura noticed that in Hinata's escape she left her jacket. Something bigger than she'd imagined had occurred yesterday for her friend to forget the jacket she wore so consistently._

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"_You can go now," Sakura said bringing Naruto out of his daze._

"_Okay" Naruto sprang back to his old self going to the door._

"_Oh, one thing. Would you mind bringing Hinata her jacket? She left it here on accident and a little walking will be good for your leg." Sakura said handing him the item in question from the desk as they headed to the door._

"_Uh, sure." Naruto took the item and walked out the door. "See you Sakura-chan!"_

"_Well, did the treatment work?" the nurse whispered._

"_Their prognosis is better than I expected."_

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_Okay, this didn't go quite as smoothly as the first few chapters, but I think its okay. Please review. I'd like to know what you guys and gals think. _


	6. Seven Little Words

Disclaimer I don't own Naruto. Sorry for the wait. I just wanted to make sure I gave you quality chapters rather than just slapping something together. Updates about what is currently under construction will be made regularly on my profile page.

Naruto walked out of the hospital harboring some minor pain and stiffness in his leg, but was otherwise no worse for the wear physically. Mentally was another subject. He wondered what was going on last night as he tried to get to sleep. Usually, he fell right to sleep unless the fox had something to say. It was a strange feeling. He wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't a bad thing.

He wandered down the streets of Konoha trying to find the Hyuuga residence, but to no avail. He was walking down a back street near the trees, he seemed to remember she lived somewhere away from most others, when he saw Neji, but there was no way he was asking him. That's when he noticed Tenten was with him and they seemed to be holding hands. Neji seemed a bit reluctant though. Naruto's grin jumped across his face. He reached into his bag and drew out a blue vial filled with liquid. He transformed into an old lady so as not to alert their attention. He would have climbed one of the trees, but his leg was not particularly thrilled with that idea. He opened the vial and poured it on their hands. He apologized profusely that his "medicine" had spilled on them.

In reality, he had just poured an instant drying adhesive. He had found it on his training with Jiraiya. It was so great he bought as many vials as he could afford. It was originally marketed as a ninja tool, but Naruto quickly saw its more sinister purpose. It came in two vial sets. The blue made an instant bond that was impervious to all but the second vial. The green vial completely dissolved the bond as a kind of antidote. The two stuck together, the prankster shifted down the nearest street and disappeared.

Neji and Tenten were about to reach the park on the south side of the Hyuuga clan area. Tenten understood Neji's desire to keep it a secret , it had been hard enough to break that stone defense of his, and was going to let his hand go before they reached a populated area, but found that she couldn't let go. Neji quickly found the same thing and realized he'd been the victim of an Uzumaki adhesive attack. He wasn't alone. A lot of Konoha had experienced this prank, so much so that Tsunade special ordered a stock of green vials and kept one on her at all times.

Neji knew the only way to release it was to find Naruto and get the other vial. Activating the byakugan, the Hyuuga quickly found the mischievous ninja and saw him give Hinata's jacket to the guard in which he spied the necessary vial. The two headed off towards the gate and to Hinata. It seemed suspicious that Naruto would have her jacket, but Neji was more concerned about the vial.

Naruto snuck off for the Hyuuga main gate after the prank was pulled off to perfection. It would have been funny to see their faces when it happened, but it would be too risky in his current state and with Neji's byakugan. The prank landed him a bonus. He caught sight of the main gate a few minutes before he dumped the vial. He headed to the gate and approached the branch member standing guard.

"Hey, just need to get through and give Hinata her jacket back."

The guard gave him a stare that reminded him a bit of Neji's.

"I will take the jacket to Hinata-dono" [I apologize if I use the wrong honorifics.]

"It's no big deal. I'll take it to her. You don't…" Naruto was cut off.

"You do not understand. No one enters other clan members and those that have an invitation to be here from a clan member."

"Just talk to her. She'll let me in."

"I'm sorry, but there are orders she is not to be disturbed." Naruto couldn't convince the guard for as much as he tried. He reasoned that fighting a bunch of Neji's just to return a jacket wasn't his idea of a good time and surrendered the jacket to the guard. He was a bit disappointed, but he figured it was also better to get going in case Neji had seen him.

Hinata sat upon her bed and read from her newest scroll. She really wished someone would show up to keep her company, but her father had sent her to her room and told her to rest. She thought it was a bit much as she had just spent 24 hours resting, but she understood his need to protect her. He may have thought of her as a failure, but she was still his daughter and a main branch member.

At that moment, a guard came with her jacket. Her face turned red as she realized she left it at the hospital and had walked all the way home without it. She thanked the guard and took the jacket. She noticed there were a couple things stuffed into the pockets. When she had taken it off the day of her injury, there was nothing in her pockets. In the left pocket, she found a green vial on which someone had written "To Hinata and Neji from your future hokage." Hinata thought for a second, "What is this stuff and why does he say to the both of us?" She suddenly remembered the adhesive and wondered what Naruto had done to her cousin.

She wasn't waiting long when Neji and a very surprised Tenten burst through the door. She jumped a little at the sight of the two holding hands. She handed Neji the vial and he quickly removed the stopper with his teeth and began to pour.

"He was just helping me up when Naruto got us…" She started but was quickly cut off.

"No we weren't." he said finishing the remedy, but not letting go of her hand.

"Neji…" Tenten began. The man seemed to be made of stone. She knew him better though. He didn't show it often, but he could be as soft and gentle as a lamb, but it took a lot of effort and he was only comfortable showing it to her. It was okay though; she knew his buttons and was well versed in how to get that side to come out.

"If even Naruto has figured us out, everybody must know by now." Hinata could have told them the truth, but she was far happier seeing Neji admit to what she had suspected and let their relationship see the light of day. The two left shortly thereafter hand in hand, though Neji was still a little uneasy.

After they left, Hinata examined the other pocket and found a piece of paper folded and stuffed inside. On the paper were scrawled 7 simple words, but she felt they were the most important she'd ever read, "Meet me at Ichiraku at noon tomorrow."

___________________________________________________________________________________

Elsewhere in the Hyuuga mansion, Hiashi and an elder sat in his office sipping tea and discussing family business.

"Please forgive me, but I have something to speak to you concerning Hinata-dono and Neji after you have finished," the guard interjected into the room.

"If it concerns Hinata and Neji, this is the perfect time to speak to us about it, but don't make a habit of interrupting us." the Hyuuga head said coldly to the rookie guard.

The guard related the day's events to the two over the next several minutes.

"I see"


	7. A Flower and Ramen

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Sorry 'bout the little NejiTen filler arc there. I just needed something to fill the space to make the chapters pace the way I wanted them to. It's definitely not my best work.**

**Hinata sat on the bed looking at that little slip of paper in almost disbelief. She finally did it! She finally got Naruto to notice her. It took a long time, but it was finally here. She searched through her closet and found a dress she had saved for a special occasion. It was beautiful and fit perfectly. She knew tomorrow would be a great day. She could barely sleep that night for all the excitement. Little did she know what lay in wait for her the next day.**

**She got up early, got dressed, put on her make up and did all she could to make herself beautiful. She snuck out through the back gate early to make sure she went as unnoticed as possible. She still wasn't supposed to be out and about, but this wasn't the time to be obedient. She wandered around the forest paths that went along the city walls to pass time before she went to Ichiraku. The paths were usually devoid of people and a nice place to settle her nerves. She arrived at Ichiraku about 15 minutes early. She didn't see Naruto, but that was to be expected. Sakura had told her about his recent tendency to be tardy. As that thought crossed her mind, she felt someone walk up behind her and tap her on the shoulder.**

"**I'm glad you found my note," Sakura said, as Hinata turned around, a little stunned.**

"**It was y-you" Hinata squeaked.**

"**Who did you think it was…?" Sakura started, but realized quickly whom after looking at what she was wearing.**

"**The handwriting was nearly illegible, so I thought the person that wrote it had written it in a hurry like Naruto would have been."**

**Sakura turned pale realizing what she had done to poor Hinata. She'd let the handwriting insult slide for now.**

"**If you were expecting him, does that mean that you finally…"**

"**Yes" she managed to squeak out going back to her finger fidgeting habit.**

"**Wahoo! This calls for a celebration. Lunch is on me." Sakura grabbed a slightly heartbroken Hinata around the shoulder and brought her up to the lunch bar.**

"**So he returned your feelings?" **

"**Well not exactly."**

"**What do you mean not exactly?"**

"**Well, he said he'd think about it, but he would give me an answer."**

"**That baka, I'll tear him a new one for toying around with a maiden's heart."**

"**It's okay really. I told him it was okay. I really want his true feelings and if Naruto says he'll do something he'll do it, right?"**

"**I guess he did bring back my Sasuke" Sakura slurred her speech a little, laying her head down on her arms.**

"**Uhno are you drunk Sakura?"**

"**I'm not drunk; I just had a teensy bit of Lady Tsunade's sake. She told me to try some, because I kept questioning why she drank so much. I still don't see the big deal." Konoha's drinking age was 18, but Sakura was not a drinker. She just never saw the use in it. In the few years that had passed since the war with Akatsuki, she had been Tsunade's replacement for Shizune. This was quite interesting in that Sakura was slowly becoming even more like her mentor. This led to quite a few incidents of butting heads between the two. With this recent adventure into sake, it seemed that the transformation was complete.**

**After lunch, the two went their separate ways and Hinata decided to wander around since she had managed to escape from the estate for the day. In her wanderings, she found herself at the three logs of the training grounds. Her mind flew back to the day when he had beaten up Neji for her sake and more importantly, to what he had said that day. She had nearly collapsed at those last words he threw back to her as he walked away. It was so simple and worry-free, but it was pure and from the heart. She hoped whatever his answer would be; it would be as honest as that was.**

**Story Break**

_**Flashback**_

"_**Sounds like spring is in full bloom eh, Hiashi?"**_

"_**Yes, but this new development with Uzumaki has me concerned."**_

"_**Why's that?"**_

"_**I have no desire to see the Hyuuga name dragged in the mud with a romantic association with that boy"**_

"_**Heh, you seem awful paranoid over a simple jacket."**_

"_**Yes, but with what I've heard of Hinata's interest in that boy it seems there may be more to it"**_

"_**Even if something has happened between those two, is it really that much of a problem?"**_

"_**The kid's a menace, and what's worse he's a menace with a great deal of power."**_

"_**How's that?"**_

"_**Well you can see it in these pranks he still pulls. He may have become stronger and matured physically, but he's still not mature enough mentally for a Hyuuga."**_

"_**From what I've heard that's one of the last immature elements left within that young man. Some clans are seriously considering supporting him for the next hokage when Tsunade steps down. Tsunade herself already supports him as an eventual successor. On top of that, the Kazekage has a deep respect for him, so that plays well into his foreign policy credentials."**_

"_**We'll have to watch this young man very closely from now on either way."**_

"_**Yes, if this match goes forward, we may be welcoming a hokage into the family"**_

"_**Don't get too far ahead of yourself elder; we only have minute traces of evidence for either claim."**_

"_**Yes, but it is promising."**_

_**Story Break**_

_**I'm sorry I just had to throw some kind of curveball in there. It was getting a bit cliché. Anyway, please review! I need some constructive criticism in order to get better, but good reviews are equally welcome. **_


	8. Running Away

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way.

Sakura and Sasuke walked around the area surrounding the hospital to get some fresh air and a little exercise.

"Isn't it kind of foolish to let me walk around like this? I mean, I could just run away."

"Idiot, number one you can't see and number two Naruto is in town. I can't see him letting you get away after all this time."

"I could probably beat most of the shinobi in this village with my eyes closed and Naruto just caught me with my guard down."

"Stop being so arrogant!" Sakura said while punching him in the back of the head.

"Naruto and I are the only reason you are still breathing. We stuck our necks out to try and save your sorry butt and all you keep talking about is escape. Who else out there do you think would help you get your sight back?"

"It can't go back to the way it was."

"I know, but maybe we can at least be together again."

"I can't stay here, the past won't allow it."

"Screw the past. Screw vengeance. Stop running away you coward!" Sakura said dragging him into an alley and holding him against the wall clutching the front of his robe. "You run away from me. You run away from Naruto. You run away from anyone who cares and is trying to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours. Vengeance will only create more pain and emptiness for you when it's done. Sometimes I wonder between you and Naruto which has the more stubborn personality."

"I understand why Naruto won't give up, but what about you? Why do you still chase me when I run after everything that's happened?" Sasuke said and Sakura took a deep breath and let him down off the wall.

"Because I love you baka and nothing can change that."

"Why me? Why not Naruto? He's a safe choice, would treat you well and I know he cares about you."

"Because hearts don't work like that. Hearts chose who they choose and there's not much a human being can do to change that. Besides that, I do love Naruto. It's just that I figured out a long time ago I could only ever see him as a little brother."

"Still…"

"Make one more comment and I'll break your leg, so you can't run away." With that, Sakura grabbed his hand and marched off around the corner back on to the street to finish the walk. What the two didn't see was a pair of blue eyes release a single tear down the side of his cheek as he slinked away from the spot he had overheard them.

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Okay, yeah, this chapter is short, but I felt it was important enough to give it its own chapter. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Hope I didn't make you use up too many tissues on this one. Don't worry, this just helps me set up future chapters for more NaruHina.


	9. Tamed Deer

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I also do not condone smoking in any way, shape or form. Don't do drugs kids.

Naruto, a bit depressed over what he had just witnessed decided to go to his favorite place to get away from everyone. He reached the hokage monument and sat upon the third's head. It was a perfect place, because it allowed for the best view of Konoha possible and nobody ever bothered to come up there. The last few days had seen a lot of change in his world. Hinata was waiting on his answer, and Sakura had completely rejected any romantic interest between them. He wondered what had happened that night in the hospital that night and why the last few nights had been the worst sleep he'd ever had. He pulled out the locket from under his shirt and untangled it from the first's necklace. He rubbed it as he thought about the possibility of Hinata. While he sat there, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He quickly tucked the necklaces away inside his shirt as he turned around to see a smoking Shikamaru standing behind him.

"Yo."

"I thought Temari got you to quit those."

"What she doesn't know can't hurt me."

"How is she anyway?"

"More troublesome than ever. Seriously, the pregnancy is doing a number on both of us with her mood swings and morning sickness."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

"What brings you up here anyway, the cigarettes? "

"Nah, I could do that anywhere but at home. Tsunade wanted me to find you and bring you to her office."

"Alright, let's go." Naruto said getting up. Shikamaru put the cig out on the cliff and tossed the butt into his pouch. The two went down the side of the cliff on chakra. It was quicker and a lot less exhausting than going all the way around. They reached the office in about five minutes and entered following Sakura. Tsunade sat at her desk with a stack of reports.

"We have a situation along the northern border of fire country. A large number of missing-nins have amassed and are attempting to raid the towns to our north. I've gathered all the available ninja already in the area and I'm having them rendezvous south of the enemy's location. I've called you three here to meet and help support them. Naruto, I know you have a couple days left on your restriction, but I'm lifting it in that the length was far longer than necessary. The extra days were meant to give you a break, because you won't take one yourself. Shikamaru I've gathered you here to manage the different teams that are gathered there, many of whom haven't worked together before. Naruto you are to offer scouting and general firepower. Sakura, there will probably be shinobi who have injuries before the battle even starts, please get them to fighting shape as best you can. Gather all necessary equipment and supplies and meet at the main gate. You are to leave immediately."

"Hai" the three said in unison.

Naruto was already pretty well set for the mission, because he'd had so much time to kill lately, and had counted his kunai at one point in an attempt to get to sleep, so his bag was well equipped. After doing a final check of equipment just outside the door of his apartment, he headed directly for the gate to wait for the remaining two.

Sakura went to the supply room and collected all the necessary equipment for treating the more common ailments of ninja: cuts, poison, and trauma to the limbs. After a quick packing at home, she went quickly to the gate to find the other two waiting for her. Shikamaru looked like he'd been hit by a tornado.

____________________________________________________________________________________

_Flashback_

"_What's this?"_

"_I picked up some litter earlier"_

"_BS"_

"_What?" _

"_We have a baby coming and I will not have you smoking around me or it. Frankly I'd prefer it if you stopped it all together if only for your own health."_

"_Alright. Alright."_

"_Don't give me that again. You better have gotten your priorities in line before you come back." With that, she pulled him by the ear and tossed him out the door along with his gear._

_______________________________________________________________________________________

"_What happened to you?"_

"_Don't ask"_

"_Since everyone is here. Let's go!" Naruto said taking a big step forward. A mission would help settle his mind for a while._

"_Do you have any idea where we're going?" the Nara said and Naruto face faulted. Shikamaru pulled out his map and plotted the route in his head. _

"_Okay, follow me." With that, the group disappeared into the forest surrounding the village._

_The team moved quickly and arrived without much incident, excepting a couple broken tree limbs and running into a family of squirrels along the way. It was late in the evening when they arrived, so after tending to the injured the three of them set up camp next to the other teams gathered there._

_Looking around Shikamaru noticed the motley crew gathered around him. The variety was astounding. Almost every clan seemed to be represented from an Aburame to even a few Hyuugas though he didn't know the ones that were in this particular group personally. He had a few of the more rested members take up guard positions and the group got some rest. Tomorrow would be troublesome._

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_Alright, so I've gone a bit off the path that you probably expected, but fear not. Good things come to those who wait. I'm sorry if you don't like my portrayal of Temari or Shikamaru. If you know how I could do better please say something. I'm all ears… or eyes rather, but you get the point. Hope you enjoyed it. _


	10. Confusion in the Clearing

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

The moonlight beamed through the trees as the three of them lay in their sleeping bags. Blue eyes stared into the trees, unable to reach sleep once more. He felt nervous and jittery, something Naruto never felt on the night before a big battle. He usually slept like a rock even under the worst of situations, but these last few nights were different. More than once, he'd caught himself rubbing the little heart like a little touchstone. Was there really someone who was there from the very beginning? He'd gained his share of fans since the war with Akatsuki, but they were just fangirls, someone who didn't know or care about him until he'd made it big. Hinata was different, thinking back all those years, she believed in him and cared for him when he was no one but a fox-faced little prankster. She saw something in him, something different. He finally realized what the little container of medicine before the second round and what she told him before the third round was really about.

"How could someone wait so long for me?" he spoke to the wind.

"Because she likes you for you baka" a groggy groaning Sakura turned over.

"Did I wake you Sakura-chan?"

"What do you think? You've been tossing and turning in that bag of yours for the last 30 minutes. Just when I think you finally settled down you start waxing philosophical."

"Hehe sorry, I just haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Its fine, at least it's something I know a little about."

"What do you mean?"

"Hinata and I have been friends for years. I couldn't understand it at the time, but she was only interested in you. I kept telling her to just say it, because I knew you'd never get it on your own. You never really looked at much more than what was right next to you. Though I don't know if I can give you that much credit when it took Kurenai-sensei and I both to convince her to give you that thing of balm and you still didn't notice. She came up with the idea in the first place, but she was almost too nervous to follow through when the moment got close. She's sweet and patient, but she just can't seem to forge the courage to go after what she really wants sometimes. That's part of why she likes you so much."

"Yeah"

"Yeah?" she questioned, but before she could say anything more the blonde shinobi was fast asleep.

"Well at least he's asleep. I hope I talked enough sense into him, for both their sakes." She rolled back over and fell asleep.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The birds chirped as the sleeping ninja awoke and began to prepare. Shikamaru made a small command center out of a nearby rock and Sakura prepared for quick medical deployment. They gathered all the ninja present into one area as Shikamaru unveiled the plan of attack

Alright Naruto, I want you to take the Hyuugas and the Inuzuka clan member and head towards the enemy's last known position. After you've made visual contact with the byakugan, I want you to relay their location to me. Naruto, I want you to keep an eye on them and report any movement. The rest of the squad, I want to fan out, check to make sure there are no other groups hiding in the area and then regroup around Naruto. If you are spotted, run back to Naruto's position. I'll have a quarter of the main force follow behind you and set up around Naruto once we have confirmed their location. Aburame, I want you to create a net around the main battle force, so we aren't caught in a surprise attack. Everybody else will remain here and prepare for battle. Be on your toes, we don't know much about these guys and we can't be too cautious right now. We'll move out once we have a full report of the enemy's strength and location.

The plan went well up unto a point. The scout force followed the nose of the Inuzuka clan member and his dog and quickly found the group. The eldest Hyuuga used his Byakugan and found the group not too far away apparently having returned from a raid just moment's earlier with all the bags they had strapped to their backs. Naruto stayed as the others fanned out and searched the surrounding area. He reported his position, and was quickly joined by the advance group headed by Sakura. The scouts returned a moment later having found nothing in a reasonable search area joined Naruto's force. Naruto reported the final results to Shikamaru via headset.

"Okay, we're on our way. Don't engage them unless you absolutely have to. We'll be coming up on your left and right. When you see a paper bomb explode over their heads, I want your group to strike and draw them forward. On the second bomb, I want you to fall back and stretch out their line, but keep containment. We'll strike in from the sides and behind them with the main force. After that just have your group contain and strike when possible. We'll drive them towards you."

"Got it." Naruto quickly sent the instructions to Sakura and explained to the scout force.

The first bomb exploded over their heads, and with it the group swarmed toward the unsuspecting ninja with Naruto at the front of the charge. The group seemed to rise to met them, but when the group got close enough to see him clearly most of the group ran away as best as they could to the side yelling, "F.O.S. F.O.S." They only met with kunai and ninjato at their throats. The second bomb rang out and the remaining shinobi tried to flee as the ninja not holding the prisoners rushed in on the confused and distracted remainder making quick work of all but their leader and a few escaping jounin level ninja. Their leader threw a kunai at a busy Naruto in a desperation move. Naruto noticed the kunai too late, but heard only a clink as it bounced off something on his chest. The rest of the battle went very easily with minimal casualties and many prisoners for interrogation and extradition. The worst casualty the Leaf suffered was a twisted ankle from tripping over a tree root.

Shikamaru met up with Naruto as the group turned around and headed for Konoha.

"What did you guys do to them to confuse them so badly? Genjutsu?"

"Nothing, we just started our attack and they went crazy yelling F.O.S. a lot as they tried to escape, whatever that means. They must have thought we were a bigger force than we were after the confusion of the bomb. "

"Are you sure they said F.O.S.?"

"Yeah, they just kept on yelling it"

Shikamaru buried his head in his hand. "It never ceases to amaze me."

"What?"

"Naruto, you have a flee-on-sight order on you."

"What's that?"

"It means the reason those guys were so scared is because whoever is leading them said that if they were to see you, they were to immediately withdrawal. They couldn't escape and got confused and in that confusion we captured them without much struggle."

"Whoa."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Well, that's it for now. It may be a while before I get to the next chapter due to classes starting, but I will finish it. Hope you're enjoying. Constructive criticism is welcome.


	11. A Sunny Place

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way.

The group turned around and headed back towards the village. The battle had been fought around dawn and the group moved all day at a very good pace, only stopping now and then to check prisoners and eat. They arrived around midnight and the prisoners were turned into the ANBU. Having dismissed the group and left a short report on Tsunade's desk.

"Who's going to write up the full report?" Shikamaru asked as they left the hokage's office.

"How about janken?" Sakura said.

"Alright" the two answered.

"One. Two. Three. Shoot."

"Gah" Shikamaru sighed.

"Have fun Shikamaru" Sakura said as she bounced away.

"Thanks Shikamaru" Naruto said as he started to step away.

"Yo Naruto."

"What?"

"Could you toss these for me?" the Nara said tossing him the pack of cigarettes.

"Finally decided to give 'em up?"

"Yeah, I don't need that woman becoming more troublesome than she already is."

"Heh" Naruto said as he jumped away, throwing them in a nearby bin.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hinata slept soundly in her bed when a window sliding open brought her to consciousness quickly. When she was young on a few occasions, there were a few attempts to kidnap her for ransom or study of her family's ability. She quickly grabbed the kunai she hid under her bed and thrust it at the throat of the trespasser. The figure dodged it, but landed outside with a thump.

She looked out of her window to finish him off, but quickly realized the would-be assailant was actually a blonde haired shinobi. He was unconscious from the fall. Quickly thinking about the guards, she leapt out, dragged him into her room through the window, and laid him on her bed. He didn't seem to wake quickly, so she did what she could to wake him up. She removed his forehead protector and wiped his forehead with a little bit of a glass of cold water she got from the bathroom. She fought back the thoughts of what Naruto was here for and the situation they were in. He could be here to return her feelings, but he might say no. Either way, if someone caught him in her bedroom, especially on her bed, it would cause quite a stir. She pushed back the thoughts as her heart raced. Finally, he seemed to wake up and stretch looking a bit confused, but soon realized his situation and blushed a deep crimson to rival Hinata's.

"Hi Hinata"

"Hello Naruto-kun" she said fumbling her fingers again.

"Uh, I uh just came by to tell you something."

"What is it?" her heart pounded.

"I don't know if I love you, but …"

Hinata's heart sank at the first bit of the sentence.

"I do want to find out."

Hinata fainted at those words with a smile on her face. She looked too happy and peaceful to bother, so he tucked her into bed and left her a note and the locket.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

In the morning, Hinata woke remembering what had happened. Was it all a dream or was it real? She began to doubt whether Naruto had been there at all. I mean, it was a little much for him to come in the middle of the night just to see her and you'd think the guards would have seen him. On top of that, how'd he find her? Her thoughts bounced like ping-pong balls around her head until she potted something golden on the nightstand.

Picking up the locket, she realized that it wasn't a dream and that he had really come to see her. Otherwise, how did he get in? It seemed to have a dent in it from something, but the clasp and hinge seemed in good condition. Inside the picture was fine as well.

"I guess it only looked bad on the surface."

On the nightstand, she found the note. She opened it and inside she read:

"Sorry 'bout the dent. That thing is pretty good at blocking kunai for its size. I guess drop by or something and tell me what you wanna do. I hope last night wasn't too hard on your arm."

She rubbed her arm. She was so panicked that she'd completely forgotten about it. It seemed fine, but it gave her an idea.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Okay, so I'm in the home stretch. I think my quality has dropped off significantly, but I'll do what I can when I get the time to finish up the last few chaps.


	12. A Dolphin Costume

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Naruto rolled over on his side to face away from the morning sun. A single drip of drool ran from his mouth as he snored away the early morning hours. They hadn't expected him for a few days yet, so with the previous night's escapades he had decided to sleep in and forgo the alarm. He woke from his dream about an all you can eat ramen buffet to the gentle tap on the door. Looking over at the clock he found it read eleven AM. He crawled out of the bed and got to the door.

"Iruka-sensei?"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hinata proceeded through her morning routine with a bit more spring in her step. She slipped out the front gate in normal clothes, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the guards.

"I'm going to have a check up on my arm. I might have aggravated my arm injury last night."

With that, the gate swung open and she headed off to the hospital. She wanted to check in on her arm, as she had said, but she also had an ulterior motive.

"Good morning Hyuuga-san"

"Good morning"

"Is Sakura in? I want to talk to her about something."

"Haruno-sensei is with a patient at the moment, but she should be free in a few moments."

"Thank you"

"If you'll have a seat over there I'll tell her you're here when she is free."

Hinata sat down in a seat along the wall and waited. Soon she saw Kurenai and her young child walk out into the waiting room.

"Now, the medicine does give some kids a rash. If it does, please come back and I'll switch to the alternative."

"Okay, thank you very much."

"My pleasure."

"Hi Hinata, what brings you here?" Sakura asked as Kurenai noticed her student.

"I want to make sure I didn't injure my arm last night."

"What happened?"

"Uhno… can we discuss this in private?" she whispered to Sakura

"Uh, sure"

"Why are you here sensei?"

"Just a bug my little one got."

"Oh. well get well soon." she smiled at the kid. The child just giggled and grabbed its mother's hand. Kurenai prepared the stroller and the two were ready to leave.

"I hope your arm isn't too badly injured. Don't be afraid to drop by your sensei's place every once in a while. I want to hear what you've been up to."

"I will."

With that, mother and child exited the building.

"So, shall we have a look?" Sakura said as she led Hinata to one of the exam rooms.

Hinata removed her jacket and Sakura began to examine her arm.

"So what did you do last night that you're worried about your arm."

"I dragged Naruto through my window," she said slipping the words out quietly as she looked at the floor.

"You dragged who through what?" Sakura asked a little surprised and a little loud for Hinata's heart to take.

"Please keep it down. I dragged Naruto through my window,' she said returning to her soft voice.

"Look Hinata, I told you you had to be more aggressive with him, but that's a bit much."

"No No No" she said waving her free hand.

"He came to visit me and he fell out of the window."

"That figures. What's more important though is why was he there, late at night, alone with you." Sakura said with an evil grin. Hinata turned into a tomato.

"He finally gave me an answer," she said as Sakura forgot about her arm and she proceeded to revert to fumbling with her hands.

"Don't keep me in suspense!"

"He said he didn't know, but…" she was cut off.

"I'LL KILL HIM!" she said as she started towards the door.

"Wait, I didn't finish!"

Sakura turned around with a curious look on her face.

"He said he didn't know, but he wanted to find out."

"Hell yeah!" she yelled as she gripped Hinata by the arm and started celebrating.

"Sakura…my arm"

"Oh, its fine"

"No, you're squeezing it too tightly"

"Oh, hehe sorry."

"I just have one question."

"What's that?"

"Does Naruto still live in that same apartment?"

"Yeah, you'd think he'd want to move into a better place, but then again I doubt you could clean it to where anyone else would want to live there"

"How are you going to get to his place without being seen? Your dad didn't seem too fond of Naruto last time I heard."

"Oh, I've got a plan" she said with a small smirk.

:"Well good luck!" she said with a smile and a Guy-esque thumbs up pose. They made it to the door and Sakura said, "Tell me if you have any trouble" with a wink.

____________________________________________________________________________________

"Naruto, I found this." Iruka started to say, but quickly averted his gaze holding out the forehead protector.

"Thanks I was wondering where it got to. What's with the looking away? I just don't have a shirt on."

"Please just let me step inside."

"O-kay" he led him in.

The door closed and Naruto took the forehead protector and put it on the nightstand. Hinata glanced at his chest while in her Iruka transformation and fainted losing her disguise. Naruto managed to catch her in time and placed her on his bed. He frantically searched around the room for something to help. Finding no clean cloth to fan her with, he grabbed one of his clean shirts and started to fan her. She woke up about a minute later, saw his face, and then closed her eyes tightly.

"A… shirt Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked down and quickly realized his state of clothing and threw the shirt on.

"There, it's safe to open our eyes."

Hinata sighed in relief, opened her eyes, noticed where she was, and turned pink.

"Hehe, I hope we can both stay awake if we go on a date."

Hinata smiled.


	13. Key of Ramen

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"It was a complete success. The enemy was thoroughly routed and casualties consisted of only one injured ankle."

"Excellent. The enemy was far weaker than you imagined then?"

"No, in fact the estimate was actually low. We were aided in the fact that a bomb was detonated above their heads to cause confusion amongst their ranks, but there was something else that aided in our success that you might be interested in."

"Oh."

"The additional success came from a flee-on-sight reaction from the surrounded enemy."

"Who triggered it?"

"I don't know for certain, but it appears to have been Uzumaki-san."

"Interesting. Anything else to report?

"No sir."

"Thank you. You are dismissed."

"Thank you sir," they replied as they arose and took their leave.

"Very interesting" Hiashi said to himself.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"There's just one thing we have to be careful of," Hinata started.

"Its okay, I'll keep my shirt on."

Hinata giggled.

"No, we just have to avoid my family."

"Why?"

"Well, my father is a little stubborn and doesn't really approve of you."

"Why?"

"He's just a very proud man and hates to change his mind, even when the obvious is glaring him in the face."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to burst in and tell him, like ripping off a band-aid*." *plaster for our friends in the UK and New Zealand

"No, he'd just get defensive and try to lock me up in the estate."

"I'd just break you out. I managed to slip through before."

"I appreciate that, but what after that? I'd like to have the two of you get along if it's possible."

"Fine, but how are you going to change his mind?"

"I have a few ideas, and a lot of friends and favors to call in. If everything works out we'll be able to see each other openly."

"If all else fails, I'll just scoop you away."

"Let's save that as a last resort, okay?" she said as her mind swept to a vision of Naruto swooping in her window and carrying her off bridal style.

"Hinata?"

"Oh, sorry."

"If we have to hide, how are we going to communicate? If we keep using transformation jutsu it might look suspicious, especially if that person shows up."

"If Sakura is willing, we could use her as a go-between. Nobody would think anything of either of us going to see her, especially with our recent injuries."

"That could work, but we should put it in code just in case." Naruto said as he scribbled a few lines on a piece of paper.

"There that should keep it safe enough, even if it is accidentally intercepted," he said handing the paper to Hinata. "The only thing we need now is a key, a word that we can use that keeps the code safer."

"How about ramen for the first one and afterwards we'll use the last word of the previous transmission."

"Sounds good"

"I've still got a few more things to do to set up the plan, so I'll need to go now so they're done before my father gets suspicious"

"Alright, see ya later Hinata."

"Bye Naruto-kun." she said as she transformed and headed out the door.

___________________________________________________________________________________

A knock came on the front door as Kurenai finished watering her window box flowers.

"Who could that be?" she said to herself as she put down the watering can. She opened the door and saw Hinata standing there.

"Hello sensei."

"Hello Hinata. When I said you should drop by I didn't mean it had to be right now."

"Hehe I know, but I had something important I needed to talk to you about."

"What is it? That's the biggest grin I've ever seen you with."

"I'm going out with Naruto!" she nearly yelled in excitement.

"Congratulations!" Kurenai said as she hugged her student. "Just try to keep it down the little one is down for a nap."

"Oh, sorry. I just got a little excited."

"It's okay. How'd it happen?"

"Well first Naruto landed on me."

"That pervert!"

"No no no, Sakura knocked him into the sky and he landed on me by accident."

"Okay"

"Well, Sakura said I had a concussion, put us in the same room and told Naruto to talk to me and keep me awake to see if there were any complications. One thing led to another and I finally worked up the courage to confess."

At the end of the word confessed Hinata was bright red and touching her fingers together.

"I see, so he loves you back?"

"He doesn't know, but he said he wanted to find out."

"Wow, so the whole thing happened in that little hospital room?"

"N-not exactly, he was unsure at first and so he gave me an answer when… Our deal about secrets still holds right?"

"Of course"

"Well he snuck past the guards late at night and gave me his answer a few days later in my room."

"That's Naruto, so impulsive at times."

"It was so romantic. I hope everything works out."

"I'm sure it will."

Hinata's eyes widened.

"How do you know?"

"When have you ever known Naruto to take any time in making a decision? If he actually took that much time to think about it, it bodes well. Remember also what Naruto's ninja way is."

"Of course. He never goes back on his word."

"When and if he tells you he loves you back, he'll absolutely mean it."

"Would you like some tea?"

"Yes please" Hinata replied.

Kurenai returned with the tea.

"There's something else I wanted to talk to you about though."

"What is it?"

"Well, my father still doesn't know and I'd like to get him warmed up to Naruto before I tell him, so I was wondering if we could have our first date here until we figure out how to hide."

"That's fine. I'll go over to Shikamaru and Temari's place and visit for a while. They need the practice with the baby on the way. When is it?"

"We haven't decided yet. I'll send a message to him. We even have a code worked out."

"Well, I hope your father warms up soon. I'd like you two to be happy."

"I'm sure he will. He just needs a little coaxing and I've got some ideas about that."

"What's your plan?"

"I think that I'll…"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

There you have it, lucky number gets somewhat technical, but hiding from the head of the Hyuuga clan isn't easy. Yet again, I play verbal dodge ball with naming the sex of the baby.


	14. You've Got Mail

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Hinata headed out of the estate that morning with the message for Naruto hidden in her kunai pouch. Her first stop was the hospital to meet up with Sakura. She walked up to the front desk.

"Is Sakura free for a moment?"

"Let me see," the nurse said as she thumbed through the appointment book. "There are o appointments right now and the casualties are pretty light. I think she could see you now Hyuuga-san."

She went in the back and Sakura came out drying her clean hands on a towel.

"What's up Hinata? Is it something about your arm again?" Sakura winked.

"Maybe."

"Well come on back and we'll take a look at it."

They walked back into a private room. Sakura turned and locked the door behind her.

"What's going on?"

"Well, I… I hate to ask you a favor after you've done so much for me lately, but I need to ask you just one little favor more."

"Let me guess. It involves Naruto," Sakura said leaning in with a grin.

"Yes," Hinata said blushing a little, fiddling a little with her fingers

"What is it?"

"Well, we need someone who won't raise the suspicions of my family to act as a go between. You're perfect because you know both of us, and my family wouldn't think twice about either of us visiting you."

"I'd be glad to Hinata," she said with a grin as she slapped Hinata on the back. Hinata wasn't very comfortable with that mischievous grin, but she'd trust her friend anyway. "He'll probably be here this afternoon anyways. When he has some time since he brought Sasuke back, he always drops by to see if Tsunade has lifted his ban from seeing Sasuke."

"Why'd she ban him from seeing Sasuke after it took him so long to bring him back?"

"Those two are like oil and water. They'll never see eye to eye, at least not in the near future. Sasuke is the main problem. Even though he can't see, he's still dead set on his vengeance. Naruto wants to protect the village, and so those two will be at odds until one of them changes. That's why I'm working on Sasuke with a little feminine touch. Hopefully I can pull him around. He still worries me a little though."

"I guess we both fell for determined men."

"More like stubborn…. but that's part of why we like them."

"Oh, I almost forgot! I've got a message for Naruto," she said pulling a small envelope from her pouch and handing it to Sakura.

"What's in it?"

"Plans for our first date."

"How are you going to do it?"

"I talked to Kurenai-sensei and she's going to let us use her house."

"Haruno-sensei, we've got another patient in room eight when you are done there," a nurse said knocking on the door.

"I'll be there in a minute or two."

"Okay" the young woman said as she walked away

"Well, I don't want to keep you."

"I'll be sure to get this to him."

"Thank you."

"No problem"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto was bored as he was usually on his day off. He sat on the roof of his apartment, flipped a kunai in the air, and caught it over and over, as he thought.

"Let's see, I could train, but Granny would probably yell at me again about not taking the day completely off. She'd say something like 'You've missed the very point of forcing you to take a day off'. I could find Kiba and see if he's up for some sparring, but she'd probably yell at me that way too. If she hadn't made me promise to take the day off seriously I could have a lot more fun."

____________________________________________________________________________________

Flashback the day before

"You wanted to see me Granny?"

"I really wish you'd call me by my real name and yes."

"What's up?" Naruto said as he put his hands up behind him on the back of his head.

"You're taking a day off."

"What!?!?? Don't I get a say in this?" Naruto yelled as his face turned to shock.

"No, the village will be just fine if you take one day off. We can always call you if we really need you."

"But…"

"No buts and no training or ninja work of any sort. You'll drive yourself into the ground if you keep going like this. You may heal quickly, but there is no substitute for a day off. If I catch you doing anything I'll ask Ichiraku to not serve you."

"You wouldn't."

"I would. Now promise me you won't do anything."

"Okay," Naruto grumbled.

"That's better" Tsunade smiled.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"I guess I'll go see if I can see Sasuke yet. I should have asked yesterday. If nothing else, it'll pass the time and I might meet up with someone on the way."

He walked slowly through Konoha. There was no sense in jumping around since he needed to kill some time. He waved hello to a few acquaintances, but didn't see any of the rookie nine or Team Guy. Looking over his shoulder, he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He shrugged it off and kept walking. He saw it again about a block later, but this was accompanied by one of his fan girls running out from behind the corner, followed by at least ten others, maybe more. He ran away as quickly as he could, ducked behind a corner, hid and quickly made a decoy clone.

"Phew, those girls just don't quit."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"No, the ban is still in place Naruto."

"Figures," he said in annoyance, pouting a little.

"Oh, I'm glad you're here. You-know-who left a message for you."

"Hinata left something already?"

Sakura smacked him on the back of the head.

"Baka, you're going to have to be more discrete if this is going to work."

"Right" Naruto said, rubbing his head.

"Here," Sakura said as she handed him the envelope.

"Thanks," he said as he put it into his pouch and turned around to leave

"Hey Naruto"

"What?"

"Good luck," she said giving him one of Guy's "good guy" poses compete with a big cheesy grin, a wink and a thumb up.

Naruto sweat dropped.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Sorry about the wait. I had a bit of writer's block with this one, and the plot bunnies were eating me alive for my other one. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. As always, please review.


	15. Kitsune and Inu

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Yeah, Kishimoto is on my list right now, for what he did this week. However, I doubt that the person in question is really dead. The rock is too conveniently placed. Anyway, the show must go on.

The smell of ink and the roar of the press saturated the printing room of the Konoha Dispatch. Hinata made her way quickly past the large presses acknowledging a few waves that came from the print men. Climbing up the stairs, she opened the door to the lobby of the editor. The secretary wasn't at the desk, so she peeked inside the office.

"Oh, hello Hinata-chan. What brings you here?"

"I came to ask a little favor if you don't mind."

"Sure thing. We couldn't have done that last story on the progress of the rookie nine without you."

"Well, I'd like you to do a story on someone."

"Who?"

"Naruto."

"Sure, we haven't had a story on him in a while. I'd be glad to, when I have a feature on him it usually flies off the shelves. Why the sudden interest?" he said with a smirk.

"There's someone that I'd like to have see him in a better, more mature light."

"I see. So how long have you been going out?"

"What are you talking about?" Hinata said looking away slightly.

"Don't try to fool me. When you've been in my line of work for as long as I have you pick up on a few things."

"Please don't print anything about us being together. My father still doesn't approve of him as much as I can tell. That's part of why I asked you this favor," she said trailing into nervousness towards the end.

"Don't worry I won't say anything. I'll set my best writer on it. Do you have any leads on anything that might be a good story?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"Bah, it's fine. There's always a story."

"Thank you."

"Not a problem, kid."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto locked the door and closed the windows. His room secure, he sat down at the table and opened the envelope. After some quick decoding, Naruto read the letter.

"Dear Naruto,

I hope you are well. My arm is recovering nicely. I've begun to move on my plans to warm up my father to you. I have also secured a place for our first date. Kurenai-sensei will let us use her house. If Saturday at seven is okay, leave something red in your windowsill. Whenever we put this plan into action, come to Kurenai's place as Kiba and bring dinner. I'll set up everything else. Please no prawns or crabs though."

"Alright," Naruto said as he stowed the note in a nearby old box under his bed and opened his window. Naruto searched around the room and found an old scroll that was red from his genin days and placed it on the windowsill. Kicking back on his bed, Naruto looked up at the ceiling.

"I wonder what I should get," he said dozing off.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Kiba had just finished his mission for the day. It was simple enough; deliver a few important scrolls to some shinobi in the field. His enhanced senses made it easy enough to find all of them and they weren't too far from the village to begin with. It even seemed a bit too easy for a tokubetsu jounin, but it was a nice break compared to what he'd been doing lately. It was about dinnertime and Kiba was on his way back home for the night. Up ahead he saw a sleepy looking Naruto wandering about in the twilight.

"Yo Naruto!" Kiba said bringing around the attention of Konoha's most surprising ninja.

"Oh, hey Kiba." Naruto perked up.

"How 'bout a little night time scrap? I still owe ya from the other day."

"Nah,"

"You okay, or did you have a big mission today?"

"Actually, I had the day off. "

"You took a day off. You sick or something?"

"No, Tsunade made me take a day off."

"You listened to her?"

"I can obey orders," Naruto said defending himself.

"What did she threaten you with this time?"

"Banning me from Ichiraku"

"Ouch, but that didn't stop you last time. You just hid out in the forest near the east gate. You getting domesticated on me fox-face?"

"Not any more than you dog breath."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just exactly what I said, you're not any wilder than me. I'd say you had the brain of a dog, but I wouldn't want to insult Akamaru."

"You," Kiba said almost growling.

"There's a snappy comeback."

Kiba lunged at Naruto, but as Naruto prepared to defend himself they both found themselves dragged away from behind. Kiba was grabbed by Shino and Naruto by Sakura.

"Seriously, you two need to learn to control your temper," Sakura said letting Naruto stand on his own.

"You're one to talk." Naruto said smugly.

"What did you say brat?"

"Nothing"

"That's what I thought."

"I see who has your leash Naruto."

"She does not!"

Shino sighed and faded back into the shadow from the moonlight and streetlamp, removing himself from the situation.

"I never claimed any ownership of him. Last time you two got into a fight it took a week to put your little battle zone back together."

"Cheh" the dog and the fox looked away.

"Now you two go your separate ways before I knock you two out."

The two went towards their individual homes both grumbling and growling.

Sakura caught up with Naruto around the corner as soon as Shino left and gripped his ear.

"Ow ow ow"

"Uzumaki Naruto, that's one of the dumbest things you've ever done."

"What? Kiba and I get into stuff like that all the time."

"That was then, this is now. You're with Hinata now."

"She knows how we are."

Sakura covered her face with her palm.

"Yes, but this is a chance to show some maturity, not to mention fighting Kiba is not the best idea."

"Why?"

"He's one of Hinata's close friends and you need all the help you can get."

"I don't need any help from him. He's probably not even that mad, that's just the way our friendship works."

"Still, it might be good to give Hinata more to use as evidence when she goes back to talk to her father"

"Okay Okay I'll be a little more mature. Just let go of my ear already."

"Good boy," Sakura said letting his ear go.

"I ought to get her back for that one of these days," Naruto said rubbing his ear. He went into his building grumbling a bit. What he didn't see was his cloaked protégée sitting along the road, waiting for him.

"So Naruto- onii-chan has a girlfriend."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Wow, that last part was a heck of a lot of fun to write. Sorry about the wait.


	16. Second Yellow Flash

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This chapter is a little bit of a departure from the progression of the story and looks at the article written by the writer from the dispatch. The interviews are done over the skip between last chapter and their date, which should happen in the next chapter. This also expounds a little on some of the back story I'm putting in. For some of the nods I give during this I suggest rereading chapter 98.

Naruto Uzumaki: Second Yellow Flash?

It is almost impossible today to find anyone who doesn't know this jounin from a single glance. Much has been made of his achievements and the respect he has garnered recently and from his efforts during the battle with Akatsuki and most notably Pain, but what do we really know about this young shinobi of the leaf?

An orphan, little is known of Uzumaki's heritage, but that has not stopped this young man from going on to great things. Though well known for his practical jokes, Naruto is known more for his talent as a ninja. Only a short while after becoming a genin, Naruto saw his first combat in the wave country and subsequently had a bridge named in his honor. The list of his achievements goes on and on including; a fight to a draw with the current Kazekage, training with the legendary sanin Jiraiya, not to mention the countless villagers who love and respect him. This and his resemblance to the fourth hokage has led to many calling him the Second Yellow Flash of Konoha, but what is this now well known shinobi really like? I met with several of those that know him well and gathered a better picture.

I first met with Shikamaru Nara, a jounin and notable strategist.

"What are your personal thoughts on Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Eh, he's a pretty troublesome guy. He could really stand to calm down a bit, but his heart's always in the right place. "

"So he's a bit overzealous?"

"I guess you could say that, but he follows through on what he says, even if it's ridiculous."

The next person I was able to talk with was Rock Lee.

"What are your thoughts on Naruto?"

"He is a truly great ninja that bursts with the power of youth. He is a fine rival."

That was all I could get from Lee as he needed to complete another lap of the village on his hands, though he seemed very sincere and gave a thumbs up as he said it. Next, I visited Hinata Hyuuga, heir to the Hyuuga clan.

"What do you think of Naruto?"

"He's an incredibly strong person."

"We all know that."

"No, what I meant is that even when things get tough, he doesn't give up. If he falls down seven times, he gets up eight. He makes everyone stronger for being around him, if only just a little."

"It sounds like you think of him highly."

"He's very influential."

Next I spoke with Tsunade's apprentice, advanced medic ninja and teammate of the young man, Sakura Haruno.

"You've known Naruto probably the best of those I've spoken to thus far. What do you think of him? What is he really like?"

"Well, he definitely holds true to his nickname as Konoha's number one surprising ninja."

"How so?"

"There are a million examples, but the one that sticks out in my mind is his record for the shortest time spent as a chuunin."

For those not familiar, Uzumaki was not able to take the chuunin exams in order to make a second attempt due to extenuating circumstances. When there was sufficient peace for the exams to be held, the leaders of the other villages deemed him too dangerous for the exam and agreed that he should be promoted without it considering he had passed the first two portions already. With jounin being an appointed rank, the Hokage quickly promoted him again as soon as the chuunin papers were official.

"That's really more the Hokage being surprising."

"That's not what was surprising. He was actually a little miffed that he'd been promoted that way. He said that he'd have rather done the exam again instead of it being just handed to him. Don't get me wrong, he was impossible to be around for at least a couple weeks, but Tsunade-sama had him running solo B-rank missions most of that time, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been."

"So he's childish?"

"Sometimes, but for the most part he's grown out of that, but Naruto wouldn't be Naruto without a little prank every once in a while."

"What's he like on a mission?"

"He's a lot more mature when it comes to actually handling village business, especially in recent years, but he's always had this interesting talent. No matter who it was, I don't know that I've ever seen someone have contact with Naruto and not be better for it or at least have a healthy respect for him."

"So he's a natural leader?"

"He can be, when he knows what the hell he's doing, which again is a lot more often lately."

As I was conducting the interview with Haruno-sensei, the grandson of the third hokage Konohamaru Sarutobi overheard us and stopped in for a chat. It just goes to show just how many people this young man has reached.

"So how do you know Naruto?"

"I'm his personal protégé. He's actually taught me quite a bit, but I'm still gonna have to work hard so I can be the seventh hokage."

"The seventh?"

"Naruto is going to be the sixth, obviously. Anyone who doesn't know that has been living under a rock. Anybody who doesn't believe that, ought to have his head examined."

"What does Naruto think of this?"

"It's been his dream to be the hokage for as long as I've known him. He's always talking about how he'll protect everyone."

Through many viewpoints we see the true nature of this man come into focus. We see a determined, hard working, natural leader burning with the will of fire. Whether we see him as hokage someday, only time will tell, but one thing is for certain. The second yellow flash is someone to watch for in coming years.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Okay, this was mostly to have something out this week. I apologize if the quality is poor as this is the first time I've tried something like this. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, please review and tell me how I can improve and what you think.


	17. Spill

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

In a room inside the hospital, Sakura was dressing Konohamaru's leg, the morning sun glimmered through the small window.

"Ow"

"Oh stop your whining, it's only a scratch," Sakura said applying the antibacterial to Konohamaru's leg. "Naruto will never name a wimp as his successor."

"You're just grumpy because Naruto-nii-chan is dating that mousy girl," Konohamaru said folding his hands behind his head.

"I really don't care who he dates…" Sakura quickly covered his mouth. "How do you know about that?" she said whispering.

"I was gonna sneak up on Naruto and try to get him to teach me to summon those cool frogs. He keeps refusing, saying 'It's a big responsibility.' and 'You don't have enough chakra yet.' I'm older than he was when he started…" he was cut off.

"Back to the point!"

"Oh yeah, anyway I was hiding out near his place the other night, waiting to ambush him, but you had him by the ear, so I decided I better leave him alone for then. You guys weren't being very quiet about it."

Sakura went pale.

"Have you said anything to anybody?"

"Nobody."

"Phew," Sakura sighed in relief.

"Well, actually, maybe just a couple. I may have accidentally told Udon and Moegi."

"What!?!?!?!" Sakura said grabbing the young man by the front of the shirt.

"I didn't know it was a secret, honest."

"I know you didn't," she said, calming down and letting him go, "but you're going to help me keep it a secret, because if Hinata's dad finds out, I'll make it your problem as much as it is theirs."

"Ye… es ma'am." he said cowering from Sakura's glare.

"Don't just stand there, go look for them. If you find one of them, get them to help you search and hush the rumor. We'll meet back here in twenty minutes. Let's hope they haven't told anyone." she said and they both sped off with the young man splitting off a clone to double his search.

"It figures, those two finally get together and something like this happens," she thought to herself as she started to scan the area

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hinata was practically floating as she set what she could for dinner. She had come over early and changed into the dress she'd intended to meet Naruto in the other day. The dining room was saturated with romance. The curtains were drawn so only the just now visible moon could peek in on their rendezvous. Candles were set out, waiting to be lit. The night was calm, only small patchy clouds dotted the darkening sky. Hinata sat down with a small cup of tea to calm herself a little, while she waited for Naruto to arrive. She got there a little too early, so she still had thirty minutes until Naruto was supposed to arrive.

A few minutes later, there came a knock at the door.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto walked down the food vendor district. The sweet and savory aromas were so thick, that you could almost taste it. Pans, woks, and any number of culinary instruments clicked and clanked as Naruto looked at the variety around him.

"Maybe I should go to Ichiraku, but I wonder if she likes ramen." Naruto laughed at himself, "Who wouldn't like ramen?"

Naruto stood there thinking for a few minutes, when Iruka walked by.

"Hey Naruto, it's been a while."

"Hi Iruka-sensei, how are you?"

"Great, just came back from a mission. Why don't you and I go get some ramen over at Ichiraku's like old times? It'll be my treat."

"No, but thanks anyways."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just have someone to meet, and I'm supposed to bring the food."

"Phew. I was worried there for a second."

"Say Iruka-sensei, what's your favorite food outside of ramen?"

"I guess I like beef bowls. Why?"

"Well, I can't keep my title as Konoha's number one most surprising ninja if I bring exactly what they expect."

"Heh, I suppose so."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Hello, Naruto. You're here early."

"Naruto?" Kiba said scratching his head. Noticing he didn't have some sort of food container in his hand, she realized it was the real Kiba and Akamaru.

"You okay?"

"Uhno…" She fumbled her fingers.

"You were expecting Naruto?" Kiba said peeking around the corner, but his view was blocked by Hinata to no avail. "This isn't a date is it?"

"Yes, but please don't tell anyone," Hinata said a little panicked.

"Heh, don't worry. I'm just glad he finally figured it out."

Hinata sighed in relief.

"Oh, I almost forgot why I came here in the first place. Could you make sure Kurenai-sensei gets this?" he said handing her a scroll.

"Sure"

Kiba left and wished her luck.

Hinata closed the door and relaxed in a chair.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto arrived, on time for once, at Kurenai's place with food in hand. He knocked on the door to see a smiling Hinata.

"Hey, Hinata."

"Hi, Naruto-kun," she said as he walked in and broke the transformation.

"What did you get?"

"I got some beef bowls, figured I'd surprise you a little."

"It is a little surprising" Hinata giggled slightly.

Naruto brought the food to the table and Hinata followed him. Naruto had just set the food on the table when a knock came at the door.

"I'll get it," Hinata said moving to the door.

"Come with me Hinata. I won't have you dating such untrustworthy trash," Hiashi said grabbing Hinata's hand. His hand was quickly knocked away by Naruto.

"Wanna run that by me again?"

"Naruto-kun"

"A physical outburst, how expected."

"Are you blind? We're about to sit down to dinner and you come in and grab her like that."

"Are you deaf young man? I said already that I won't have her fraternizing with untrustworthy trash like you."

"You got some nerve pal. You must live under a rock, because otherwise you would have heard that I was promoted to jounin. The hokage doesn't just give that rank out like it's nothin'!"

"That may be so, but how can I trust a man with my eldest daughter and the future of the Hyuuga clan, who can't resist these immature pranks and has such a terrible temper?"

"If stopping my pranks is all you need, I'll do it. If you want me to calm down, fine. Let me make one thing clear to you though. You may not want to admit it, but your daughter is a heck of a lot smarter than you give her credit for and she can make her own choices."

"If you mean what you say…"

"I never take back my word. That's my ninja way."

"Fine, I'll give you a test then. If you can go one month without a practical joke or getting into a fight, I'll acknowledge your maturity and you may date as openly as you wish, within virtue. Training sessions, missions, self-defense, and sparring that involves moving to a training area before fighting will of course be excluded, because that is only fair. If you fail, you will respect my wishes regarding the two of you. Do we have an accord?"

"Naruto, you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do. You wanted your dad and I to see eye-to-eye. I think this is the only way that's going to happen."

"Good, you may finish your date here, but I want Hinata to be in by 11:30. From now on, your dates will be held at the Hyuuga estate where I can keep an eye on you until the end of the test. The test begins at midnight."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Okay, so it doesn't cover all the date, but it covers the big events. If you think Sakura's successor bit seems a bit OOC, you have to realize in this reality that Naruto as the next hokage is all but certain.


	18. Sprouts

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Hinata and Naruto stood there as her father clicked the door shut. It was the prime of spring, but the chill from Hiashi seemed to form a draft that would chill one to the bone.

"Is it really okay?"

"It's fine. I can do it. Just believe in me," Naruto said with a cheesy grin that set Hinata more at ease.

"Alright," Hinata said smiling" but he's not going to make this easy."

"To be honest, I don't need the pranks anymore. Back then, when I was younger, I just wanted to get everyone's attention. Now, I don't need them anymore. I've already got their attention and…"

He was cut off by the bursting of the door as Sakura and Team Ebisu, excepting their namesake, spilled into the room.

"Naruto!" Sakura said panting. "You've got to get out of here. We have a leak and her father is probably on the way."

The couple stood there in shock at first at the sudden entrance.

"Um, he was already here," Hinata spoke up.

"Huh?" Sakura said catching her breath. "I thought he hated Naruto. Why are you both still here?"

"I worked something out with him. It's not gonna be easy, but I can pull it off."

"What's the deal?"

"I have to give up pranks and getting into scrapes for a month, and we have to have our dates at her house. If I pass that, he'll finally let her do what she wants."

Sakura grinned very subtly.

"Alright, we'll be going then. We don't want to interrupt," she said motioning for the group to follow her.

Moegi was the first to speak up as they made their way down the streets of Konoha.

"What was with that smirk in there? I thought you wanted those two together."

"I do. I just noticed something interesting."

"What?"

"Let me ask you something. How do you define love?"

"I guess when two people like each other a lot and want to be together forever."

"That's how a lot of people think. There's nothing wrong with it, but I have my own definition. I think love is caring so much about someone you put them above even yourself."

"If you two are gonna get all philosophical, I'm going home. I don't need this mushy stuff," Konohamaru said folding his arms behind his head as the four walked together.

"Fine, remain a fool," Moegi said, tapping him on the back of the head.

"What gives?"

"Nothing, go ahead and go home baka."

"Whatever. See ya Monday," he said shooting a grin and bouncing away.

"I better go home too," Udon said sniffling, "I'm probably going to be chewed out as it is."

"See ya."

"Bye," Udon said bounding away.

"Don't worry, they all mature eventually, even Konohamaru."

"That's hard to believe. Why would I care if he matures anyway?"

"He might be oblivious, but I'm not."

Moegi turned pale and then flushed as red as Sakura's clothes.

"He's too much like his freakin' hero."

"He could do worse. Don't worry too much about it. Naruto may not be the most mature man in Konoha, but you can always count on him to be there for you. If Konohamaru grows up to be half the man Naruto is, he'll be fine."

"We'll see. What did you notice anyway?"

"Didn't you notice what Naruto did for Hinata?"

"Yeah, he gave up that immature stuff so he could be together with her."

"I see something interesting in that. If he were the old Naruto, he might have just tried to beat him up and take her away, but he didn't. Hinata was trying hard to warm her father up to the idea of Naruto, so they could all get along. He gave up those things and his typical way of solving things so they could be together and made her wants his priority. I can't by any means say it's love, but it's definitely a start," Sakura finished looking up at the night sky.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Back in the apartment, the two of them moved back towards the meal that had now been twice interrupted.

"It's gone cold. I'll go heat them up," Hinata said taking the bowls into the kitchen.

"Thanks Hinata-chan."

"No problem Naruto-kun," Hinata smiled

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hiashi sat alone in his office, looking at the family portrait.

"I can't believe how much she has grown in this short time. Seems only yesterday she was a little genin, fresh out of the academy. She's grown into such a strong young woman. I have to give Kurenai credit for giving her support when I was too nearsighted to see what she could become."

"She's not the only one you'll have to give credit to," the elder slipped into the candle lit room.

"Who are you referring to?"

"You know darn well who I'm talking about. She's been chasing that boy for a long time, and from what I hear, she's finally caught him. You didn't go do anything unreasonable, did you?"

"I'm simply testing the boy. I'll allow them to continue to associate if he proves to me he's serious and can act maturely."

"Hiashi, you're too cold. They're barely old enough to drink. Give them some breathing room."

"You've gotten too liberal in your old age. It's because they are young that I'm concerned. We both know what happened with the Nara's son."

"That doesn't mean it'll happen to them. If you're so adversarial, those two will resent you if this does lead to something. "

"I'd rather be resented than let an unruly boy enter this clan, much less marry it's future leader."

"If you've decided to be this stubborn about it, I guess there's not much I can say to change your mind. Just try not to be too hard on them," the elder exited.

"I just have to keep this up a little while longer." Hiashi said looking back at the picture and smiling.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Sorry about the wait guys and gals, hope you enjoyed Sakura's waxing philosophical.


	19. Checkers

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"What's up bushy brows?" Naruto said as Lee caught up with him.

"I'm here to continue our rivalry!"

"Ugh, why?"

"In order to honor our sensei by continuing their rivalry into the next generation. I have told you this before."

"I know. I know. What's the challenge this time?" Naruto said holding his forehead.

"I believe it is your turn to select. Will it be an eating contest, sumo, marathon…"

"Checkers."

"Checkers?" Lee was a little let down. "If that is what you choose, that will be excellent. A test of cunning! If I lose I shall cartwheel one lap around the village for every space on the checkerboard."

"That's really not necessary."

"Oh, but it is. If I do not push myself I will not grow."

"Anyway, let's find a checkerboard."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hinata walked down the street on this the last day of her medical restriction. She was headed back to the Hyuuga estate to meet Naruto for their next date after picking up a couple of items she needed for the lunch they were to share.

"Hinata," an arm snagged her and pulled her into the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

"Whah" a disoriented Hinata said as Ino grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Is it true?" Ino asked.

"Wha?"

"Are you really dating Naruto?" an excited Ino asked.

"Ye…Yes," she said recovering from the surprise.

"Yatta!" she said swinging her around cheerfully.

"Uhno…could you please….stop…. spinning me."

"Oh, sorry. I just got a little excited," she said as she stopped spinning and let her find her feet. "This is huge. I knew you liked him, but I'd only heard the rumor that you two had gotten together. How'd it happen?"

"Well…" Hinata started.

"Still as nosy as ever, Ino," Sakura laughed.

"Only because I was left out of the loop," she said a little miffed.

"Would you trust you with a secret this big?"

"Secret?"

"We were hiding them, so her father wouldn't know, but someone let it slip and it spread so much that he did get a hold of it. He would have broken them up if Naruto hadn't cut a deal."

"Wow, I knew he didn't care for him too much, but I didn't think he'd go that far. This is still huge though. I mean a tale of finally requited love doesn't happen everyday, especially with two village celebrities."

"Uhno…" Hinata stammered.

"And can you imagine their kids? They'll be ridiculously powerful!" Ino exclaimed.

"And smart to boot with Hinata as their mother!" Sakura said looking over at Hinata.

"Kids…" Hinata turned bright red and collapsed, but was caught by Sakura before she could hit the ground.

"I guess we went a little overboard."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The checker match was roughly even midway through the match. Naruto and Lee had traded pieces back and forth and the time was quickly arriving that he was to meet Hinata.

"Could you hurry it up?" Naruto said a little impatient at the turtle's pace Lee was observing.

"It is unwise to rush in contests such as these. Why are you in such a rush anyway?" he said focusing on the game board. A sudden realization jumped over his face and he continued before Naruto could explain, "Ah ha! I have seen through your clever strategy. You intend to have me choose unwisely by making hasty decisions. A clever ploy, but it will not work."

"That's not it at all."

"Then a mission you are due to start?"

"No, in fact Granny Tsunade hasn't let me do much of anything lately in the way of missions."

"What is it then?"

"I'm supposed to meet someone in about ten minutes."

"I see. We could note where the pieces are and come back to it when you have the time."

"Nah, I've got a better idea" a gleam shone in his eye. He stood up from the table, crossed his fingers and made a clone.

"Ingenious, this way we may still have our match and you can be prompt for your meeting."

"Well, I'm leaving this to you," he said to his clone who nodded in understanding. "See ya later bushy brows!"

"So long Naruto. I hope your meeting goes well."

"Thanks"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto managed to make it to the front gate with five minutes to spare. He wiped his brow and leaned against the post. The guards said not a word, just seemed to look right through him like he wasn't there aside from a quick dirty look or even more concealed approving look. They couldn't allow him inside until Hinata came out, so it was just a matter of waiting now. Minutes passed and Hinata didn't appear. Five minutes past their appointed meeting time Naruto got a little worried, so, knowing the guards would be tight lipped about where she was, built up just a little sage chakra and started sensing for her presence from the spot he stood. Failing to find her inside the estate, he started to look out into the village. He sensed her, but it was fainter than it should have been. Concerned, Naruto headed towards the shop to find her fainted, but being treated with some smelling salts by Sakura. Naruto finished off his sage chakra and his eyes returned to normal.

"Is she okay?"

"She'll be just fine. We just said some things that overwhelmed her. Why are you here?"

"We were supposed to have a little date, but when she didn't show up I got a little worried," Naruto said half-mumbling the last part and looking away.

"Aww" the two said in almost unison.

"Cut it out." he blushed a very faint pink.

As the aww came out, Hinata sprang back to consciousness and caught everyone's eye.

"Heh I told you before, if this is going to work out we both need to stay awake," he said grinning and helped her to her feet.

"Mhm," Hinata said smiling as the two walked out together, Hinata leaning on Naruto just a little to keep herself stable.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

This chapter was really fun to write and it snapped together amazingly quickly. Hope you enjoyed.


	20. Special Delivery

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way, shape or form.

"Hehe"

"What is it Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"I just beat bushy brows at checkers."

"Huh?"

"I left a clone to finish my game, so I'd meet you on time."

"Sorry about that. They ambushed me."

"It's not like it was your fault anyway. I'm just glad you're alright."

"Mhm"

"How's your arm?"

"Better, I go back to active duty tomorrow. How's your leg?"

"No complaints."

"That's good."

The two walked together towards the Hyuuga estate catching the eye of more than a few surprised onlookers. A pair of eyes darted back down the alley.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

In the secret headquarters of the Uzumaki Naruto Fan Club…

A boisterous girl in her mid to late teens clad in headband and an orange cape stands up at the meeting. There are probably close to 20 young women of varying ages sitting out on the floor. The young woman is followed by a slightly younger woman who stands behind her and to the left. Torches light the room with a faint orange aura, illuminating the faces of the members.

"This meeting is called to order!" she yelled slapping a harisen on the table in front of her. The room fell from a chattering cacophony of sound down to complete silence. "It has come to my attention through Nezumi's surveillance that our beloved idol has chosen a girlfriend."

The crowd gasped.

"Which one of us was it?"

"That is the problem. While it is true if one of us had snagged him the club bylaws state that the rest are to back away, but the woman isn't even one of us!"

"Let's scare her off!" one of the crowd yelled in anger followed by an agreeing majority.

"While I agree with your enthusiasm, there are better, easier ways to get rid of her." Yakamashiihana said adjusting her cape.

"Is it really necessary to do something? If you like Uzumaki-kun, shouldn't you want him to be happy? If he's made unhappy by what you do, isn't that doing the opposite of what this club is for?"

Seven or eight of the mob set to tear Hinata apart looked down at the floor realizing Hanashin's point.

"No, someone who isn't dedicated to him like we are will never make him happy, so we'll break them apart and one of us will take her place."

"That's selfish!" Hanashin stood up.

"Love is selfish! Love means you want to hold them away from anyone else. You want them for you and you alone and want the same in return."

"Love is selfless! Love means you each want to make the other happy no matter what! Even if that means giving them up so that they can be happy!"

"Anyone willing to give him up that easily doesn't really care!"

"Anyone willing to crush his happiness for their own pleasure is a demon!"

"She can't make him happy like one of us!"

"How do you know she can't?"

"How do you know she can?"

"He chose to be with her, so she must make him happy or he wouldn't go out with her."

"But he could be happier with one of us."

"If you can't accept his decision, then I want nothing to do with this club anymore!" Hanashin said as she pulled out her card and ripped it up. About half of the remaining members stood up and did the same.

"Traitors."

"That term fits you better." Hanashin walked towards the door, followed by the former members of the club.

"We'll do it anyway."

"Go ahead and try."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Hu Ha Hu Ha Hu Ha"

"Was that Lee doing cartwheels?"

"It wouldn't surprise me." Neji said as they walked off together.

"Things seem to have calmed down a lot lately. It's almost eerie.

"Our class and the class that graduated after us had great potential. That potential is now available to bring to bear against our foes. The balance of power has shifted in our favor, and our alliance with the sand has never been stronger. This is a time of peace for the village."

"Kind of like when we were kids," Tenten grasped Neji's hand.

"Yes," he said gripping her hand as well, though still a little reluctantly.

A chuunin slipped in front of them.

"Hyuuga Neji-san, Tenten-san, I was sent to deliver these scrolls to you immediately," he said handing them the scrolls. He bowed politely and left in a flash.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto and Hinata arrived at the gates about thirty minutes after their date was scheduled to start.

"Hinata-dono, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Some friends grabbed me and I couldn't pull myself away."

"Your father wishes to speak to the two of you. He is in his office."

"We'll go there right away," Hinata replied, though they were both a little nervous.

After some mild chewing out about promptness, Hiashi let them go to enjoy their lunch, inside the gates of the estate of course.

"Sorry about that. It's just the way he's always been. He's kind of strict, but he means well."

"I don't mind. I get chewed out every once in a while by Granny Tsunade. Hers are a lot scarier."

The two made their way through the estate into one of the small gardens and sat down with their lunch. The picnic basket was stuffed to the gills with all sorts of food.

"Wow, it looks amazing!"

"Thank you," a slight blush crossed her face. The two began to eat and chat, enjoying the peaceful nature of their meal without a certain parent barging in. While they were finishing the main course, a younger shinobi dropped in.

"Whah"

"Sorry to interrupt your meal. It was requested that I deliver these scrolls to you immediately," he said handing one scroll to each. "Thank you," he said quickly before he jumped and disappeared.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Earlier…

Sakura looked through the paperwork and smirked a little. She glanced over at her clipboard and a devious grin slid across her face.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Alright, so I'm not sure about the whole fan club thing, but it probably won't be all that important anyway.


	21. Double

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Naruto and Hinata stood in the garden with scrolls in hand.

"I guess we should open them in case it's an emergency."

"Mhm," Hinata said a little down hearted that their date would be broken up, but she understood this was the life of a ninja. It meant romance took a backseat to the security and survival of the village.

The two cracked the seal and unrolled it. The two read the text inscribed with utter astonishment. Inside both scrolls was the following, written in Sakura's handwriting.

Dear Naruto and Hinata,

Sorry if I interrupted your date, but this mission will more than make up for it. This mission is an S-rank and so I needed a number of jounin to complete it. Lady Tsunade has given me most of the duty of picking teams for missions lately, but she still checks in on the higher ranked missions. Anyway, I managed to get you approved to go on this mission together, but I had to have another two, so I added Neji and Tenten. This way Hinata's dad can't really complain, and I can't imagine Neji getting in your way too much, considering he'll have Tenten to hold him back.

This mission is set to last at least a week to a week and a half. You will meet and head out today at 6:00PM sharp at the north gate. A very important scroll was recently stolen from Suna and it is suspected that the ninja are high level jounin from the Village Hidden in the Sound. It appears someone has revived the village and is taking hold there. We don't know their purpose with the scroll, but in order to return to the sound, they will have to go through the Land of Fire or else they will have to take the long route and risk capture and being sighted along the many borders they would have to cross in order to reach home. As a show of good faith to our allies in Suna, we are dispatching you to attempt to recover the scroll. Lethal force is allowed. Having two Hyuuga members should aid in the discovery of their locations, but as an added support, the network of guard posts will be informed and will contact you in case of encounter. It will still be a day or two before they cross the border considering the stealth with which they have to move and the large size of the scroll. Included bellow is a drawing if the scroll.

The scroll was dark red with green stripes along the top and bottom and approximately 1 meter tall (about 3 feet) and three quarters of a meter in diameter. After the drawing was a small post script.

P.S. Don't do anything too crazy. I don't want to be delivering babies nine months from now…: P

Hinata finished her scroll first and fidgeted a little, not knowing quite what to do about that last insinuation.

"Hehe, that Sakura worries a little too much." Naruto said laughing a little nervously.

"Mhm," Hinata laughed a little too, chasing away little thoughts with a shake of her head.

"Well, it's still a little early, so I think we can finish up here and still have plenty of time to get ready."

The two finished dessert and after a little relaxing and talking, Naruto got up to leave.

The two walked to the gate and Hinata waved to Naruto as he went toward his apartment.

"See ya, Hinata-chan."

"See you later Naruto-kun," Hinata smiled.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

While Naruto and Hinata each went to their respective residences, Tenten and Neji unrolled their scrolls.

"Interesting"

"Hmm. It seems like we'll be teamed with Naruto and Hinata for this one."

"Her vision should be a great help and Naruto can be useful in a brawl."

"I've heard those clones can be effective scouts as well."

"They would be if he wasn't the loudest ninja in the whole village."

"Oh, come on. He's not that bad."

"I'll admit he has gotten better since the chuunin exams in that respect, but not by enough."

"Well, I guess we better both prepare for the mission. I'll see you at the gate," Tenten stood and put her satchel over her shoulder.

"Mhm" Neji acknowledged. He turned to go, but Tenten snuck a peck on the cheek, which paralyzed Neji in his place with a slight pink shade to his cheeks.

"You'd better not let your guard down like that on the mission."

"Who said I let my guard down?" Neji smirked to himself.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto pulled out his rations, clothes and ninja tools for the upcoming mission. Naruto stood in his apartment looking over the set he had spread out on his bed for inspection.

"Hmm my kunai seem to be running low. I have the smallest amount I could need as it is and I'm kind of worried about that one on the end. I used it pretty roughly on the last mission. I guess I should test it."

Naruto picked up the suspicious kunai and smacked it hard against the side of the bedpost. The kunai edge cracked. He inspected the rest and found it all to be in good order.

"It's a good thing that I had a little time between the date and the mission. I hope the weapons shop isn't too crowded today," he said zipping his bag and then slinging it over his shoulder.

"Let's see, it's four now, so I guess I have about an hour to finish picking up some more kunai and maybe some shuriken while I'm at it before I need to eat something and meet everyone at the gate."

Naruto stepped out of his apartment and made his way down to the weapons shop after a quick stop to stock up on rations.

"Oi, oyaji!"

"I wish you'd stop that. You'll make me an old man before my time if you keep calling me by that," the middle aged shopkeeper said as he put his face in his palm "What brings you down to my humble little shop?"

"I need a few kunai and maybe some shuriken if you have 'em for a good deal."

"You hurt me Naruto. I always have the best deals in the village," the old man feigned a few tears.

"Stop it Dad. Don't try to guilt a regular into buying more products. Especially with such a pathetic performance," Nezumi said with a light tap to the man's head with a harisen. Nezumi was roughly the same age as Naruto with medium length brown hair and deep green eyes. She is a very attractive young woman with a smile to outshine the stars.

"Nezumi's so cruel to her poppa."

"Hu. Anyway, I overheard that you needed some kunai. How many would you like Naruto-kun?"

"Oh about five should do it. I'll go ahead and get that pack of shuriken."

"Sure thing." she said with a wink as she went to the back.

"She's a good girl, but she can be a real handful at times. You got a girlfriend yet Naruto?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Wow, I never heard about that, but I don't keep my ear in the gossip like Nezumi. Who's the lucky gal?"

"Hinata"

"From the Hyuuga clan? That's quite a catch young man… but if anything were to happen to split you up you ought to give my Nezumi a chance. She's just wild about you."

At the sound of "you", Nezumi slammed the harisen down on her father's head.

"Don't go spouting stuff like that! It's embarrassing!" she said becoming a little pink in the face.

"I'm sorry sweetums."

"Guh. Anyway, here's your order. It'll be 2000."

"Here you go." he said handing her the money.

"Thank you, come again soon Naruto-kun!" she said waving as he walked toward the door and put the new equipment in his hip pouch. As he left he heard some yelling in the distance.

Rushing to the scene, he found a group of female shinobi encircling someone. Through the encirclement he saw Hinata's face. Rushing in, he jumped into the middle of the swarm.

"Naruto-kun?"

"You okay Hinata?"

"I'm fine."

The group encircling had stopped their approach at the sudden emergence of their idol. They were too lost in their oohs and ahhs.

"Need some help?"

"No"

"Aww, come on I made such a cool entrance."

"No, I want to do this on my own, "Hinata said getting serious. "Just sit back and watch me for a change. I've grown stronger since you last saw me fight. Besides, we don't want to break the agreement. They won't attack you, so it can't be called self-defense." she said with a gentle smile.

"Alright, I'll be cheering you on!"

"Thanks," she said as Naruto leapt out of the circle.

"If you leave Naruto-sama to us, we'll leave you be. If you don't, there's no way you can deal with this many of us."

"No, I love him and I won't lose to the likes of you!"

The group closed in and got ready to launch their attack.

"You guys picked the wrong formation to attack me. Eight trigrams heavenly spin!"

The group was flung back in all directions, most knocked unconscious or injured so severely that they were incapacitated. A few remained standing who hadn't gone in the first wave. They stood there rethinking their plans, when a number of other kunoichi slipped in behind them and knocked them unconscious.

"Sorry about that, they don't represent the Uzumaki Naruto fan club."

"What?" Hinata said, but she was soon talking to the wind. Naruto ran up to her and hugged her.

"That was awesome Hinata-chan! I didn't know you could do that too."

"Naruto…"

"What?"

"Everyone's looking," Hinata said, followed by the sudden realization of the situation. They both became a little flustered. Naruto released her, but not without a few embarrassing noises from the shopkeepers and customers.

"Heh, I guess I got a little carried away." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head.

"Maybe just a little," Hinata giggled. "I still have some things to pick up, so I'll see you later Naruto-kun."

"Alright, see you later." Naruto waved.

The two went their separate ways until it was time to leave.

Even Naruto was on time as the four set out onto the road. The sun set lazily behind them as their mission began.


	22. Arrangements

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Back in the leaf village, Temari and Shikamaru are together in their humble little apartment. Temari sat on the couch reading a childcare book she borrowed from Kurenai. Shikamaru leaned on the windowsill peering up at the clouds.

"Shika, come over here for a second," Temari said motioning for him to join her on the couch.

"What is it?" Shikamaru said turning around.

"Just come here."

"Whatever," he said complying with her demand.

Once Shikamaru was close, Temari reached around and grabbed him in a headlock.

"What the…" Shikamaru said trying to free himself a little.

"Stop struggling," she said as she smelled him. A confused look grew over his visage until he suddenly realized what was going on.

"Good boy, no smoking," she said releasing him from the headlock and then patting him on the head.

"Jeez, if you wanted to smell me, you could have done it a nicer way."

"Then I wouldn't get to see that confused look of yours, and that'd take all the fun out of it."

"Why did I have to pick such a troublesome woman to fall for?" Shikamaru said sitting on the couch next to her, rubbing his neck.

"It was fate," Temari said a little haughty popping him lightly in the shoulder.

"Heh, maybe."

"You were the one who said that you were doomed to have nothing but troublesome women in your life."

"Yeah, but not this troublesome…"

Temari gave him a small death stare.

"… but I guess it can't be helped, since I love you," he said smirking a bit as Temari's face turned a little softer.

"It's hard to believe that it's only gonna be a couple months 'til we're gonna be parents," Shikamaru said leaning back with his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, it's a little scary," Temari said running her hand over her greatly swollen midsection. Shikamaru put his hand over hers and felt a kick through his fingers interlaced between Temari's.

"She seems to know that her father needs a swift kick every once in a while."

"Pfft, I hope she doesn't turn out as troublesome as her mother."

"Or as lazy as her father."

"I didn't think it'd be a shotgun wedding or I'd fall for such a troublesome girl, but I guess I can't complain much when my dreams are coming true bit by bit," Shikamaru thought to himself as the baby kicked again.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Four Sound forehead protectors glimmered in the light of the moon. Two ran out front. One ran behind them, with the final ninja behind them, struggling a little to keep up the pace with the massive scroll on his back.

"Come on guys. Slow down. I can't carry this thing this fast."

"Eh, suck it up, Shirou. We'll rest when the sun comes up and we have to hide again. We can only move at night and it's only going to get harder when we reach Fire Country."

"Can't we at least switch who's carrying it, Jirou? This thing is ridiculous."

"No, you're the only chuunin here. If we get into a scrape with some ninja from Konoha, we're going to need our best fighters rested."

"Why would they care? It's a scroll from Suna."

"They're in an alliance with Konoha at the moment."

"That didn't matter when we attacked during the chuunin exams."

"Idiot, that was when Orochimaru-sama tricked them. The Leaf already hates us and would take any chance they got to ruin us. On top of that, the fifth Kazekage has strong ties with the Leaf, so those two have never been closer. Had we not had those guys run those distraction raids, we wouldn't have been able to cross Fire so easily."

"Quiet back there. This isn't a playground. This is enemy territory. Suna is chasing us from behind and Konoha has probably sent shinobi as well. This is going to be dangerous as it is, we don't need to give them any help."

"We understand Ichirou," the two replied simultaneously.

"You better."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"So, where we supposed to go Neji?"

"Looks like we're supposed to head towards outpost eight to check in with them and then head east towards outpost four, making camp once along the way. Why they didn't just include this with the original scrolls is beyond me."

~LegendaryStrawberry whistles. "What? I'm not perfect."~

"Did anyone else hear whistling," Temari asked.

"Probably just a bird," Naruto said as they all bounded away towards outpost eight.

As the group moved deeper into the forest, Hinata and Naruto both snuck glances at each other when the light would allow.

"I'm a little nervous, but I'm also grateful to Sakura, for giving us some time together. Not only that, but it makes it easier for Naruto-kun to keep his word, not that he would."

"I wonder what's up with her, she seems kind of scared, but she's smiling. Maybe she's nervous about the mission," Naruto thought to himself. "This is gonna be a piece of cake fighting on our own turf," Naruto said in his best encouraging tone.

Hinata smile became a little less stressed, much to Naruto's relief.

"Don't be so cocky Naruto." Temari scolded him.

"Indeed, these ninja are from the Sound, they may have something we've never seen before."

"Doesn't matter what they throw at us, between the four of us we can handle it."

Neji and Tenten rolled their eyes. Everyone knew by this time, it was easier just to let Naruto finish whatever speech he wanted to make than to try and stop him. Hinata just softly smiled at his little inspirational speech.

They reached the eighth outpost around midnight and were immediately addressed.

"Who goes there?"

"Friend, we're checking in before we head off to the fourth," Naruto said preempting Neji.

"Is that you Naruto?" Chouji stepped out

"Yeah! That you Chouji?"

"Yeah man. They've got me working this outpost now."

"How is it?"

"Pretty easy, but the only downside is that you can't get anything other than basic rations around here."

"That's rough."

"You're telling me."

Neji cleared his throat.

"Oh, you guys probably want the report on the movement of those guys," Chouji said reaching in for a clipboard. He flipped through the pages, "Looks like they haven't entered Fire Country yet, but they will probably be at the border within a day or two; based on some reports we got from River Country."

"Any word on their direction?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah, they seem to be on a straight path north-northeast from Suna to Oto."

"That would take them right past Konoha!" Hinata realized.

"Strange, their strategy makes no sense. They have a heavy, cumbersome object to deliver and they are trying to head straight past their foe's stronghold. It would be wiser to head along a less traveled area, go the long route and remain concealed and hard to find."

"Probably just wanted to do the opposite of what we thought they'd do, so we waste effort searching for them in the middle of nowhere, while they slip right by," Naruto thought aloud.

"In what universe does that make any sense?" Tenten said.

"Whatever, let's go. We checked in. Let's head toward the next outpost."

"I concur, for once." Neji said as they moved out.

"See ya Chouji!" Naruto waved.

The group headed out once again and before long they were all yawning a little, even Naruto.

"The sun's coming up. Maybe we should take that rest. If they are trying to sneak through, they'll travel at night, and rest during the day. We should probably do the same." Hinata said, stifling a yawn.

"Probably a good idea," Tenten replied.

"Yeah," the two guys agreed.

The group settled down in a small clearing concealed on all sides by trees.

"I'll take the first watch." Neji said as he climbed a nearby tree.

Naruto was the first to settle into his sleeping bag and conk out, while everyone else were digging theirs out of their bags.

"He's always got so much energy, but he's the first to sleep," Hinata said warmly as Naruto began to snore gently.

"Yeah, he's kinda childish that way."

"Maybe, but I think it's because he puts everything into what he does. He never does anything halfheartedly. "

"I suppose that's one way to look at it."

Hinata had her bag unrolled, but she hadn't set it in a particular spot yet.

"Should I sleep next to him or is that too forward? We are in sleeping bags after all, so it's not like I'm doing anything shameful," she thought to herself looking back and forth between the two spots. Temari had bedded down with enough space between her and Naruto for one person and enough space between her and the edge of the clearing for another.

Tenten noticed Hinata's slight fret over the sleeping arrangements. She got up out of the sleeping bag and called to Neji as she plopped his bag out between hers and the clearing's edge, "This okay Neji?"

"It's fine."

Hinata, her choice now made for her, placed her bag between Tenten and Naruto's quietly, so not to wake him and slipped into her bag. For the first few minutes, she was the most alert she had ever been in her life, as she was acutely aware of her proximity to Naruto. After a few uncomfortable minutes staring at the back of Tenten's head, she turned over and looked at Naruto's sleeping form. Compared to how he was while he was awake, it was like night and day. His chest rose and fell so gently and he seemed so peaceful as the soothing remnants of his grin twitched with the occasional breeze that blew by. As she took all this in, she slowly started to drift off into a gentle slumber.


	23. Proximity

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"Haruno-sensei!" a knock came at Sakura's door. "Haruno-sensei!"

"Guh, What's the emergency?" Sakura said yawning and rubbing her eyes as she opened the door.

"We have a shinobi who came in in critical condition. He's hanging on by a thread .The on duty medic-nin was concerned and sent me to get you."

"I'll be right there. Have my coffee ready."

"Hai, Haruno-sensei," the medic-nin saluted and zipped off into the night, followed in short order by Sakura. Arriving at the hospital, Sakura was handed and guzzled down her coffee as she ran to scrub in and get to the OR.

"What's the situation?"

"Severe internal injuries, lacerations, and shattered ribs."

"Alright, I'll take over the pulmonary system and the heart; you try to stop the internal bleeding."

"Hai"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Tenten," Neji nudged her gently.

"My turn?

Neji nodded.

"Alright, sleep well Neji."

"Thanks"

Tenten leaped into the tree where Neji had been. In the crook of the tree, a number of small picked flowers were bunched together in a leaf. After admiring them for a while in the moonlight, Tenten slipped them in her pouch securely.

"Even though you refuse to let that soft spot of yours show to anyone else, I'll treasure it."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The team worked furiously on the patient.

"We're losing him," one of the younger nurses yelled out over the warning signals.

"I know that! Keep it down!"

The patient's heart stopped and the flat line signal blared.

"Come on!" Sakura yelled as she tried to save the young man on the table before her. After a few attempts to revive him, she backed away.

"Call the time of death, 3AM," Sakura called out as she removed her gloves. She washed up and sat in the hallway a little glum.

"Haruno-sensei," a voice called up from just outside the door.

"Yeah?"

"We need you to sign off on the certificate."

"Oh… yeah," she rose from her seat slowly and made her way to the young woman and the clipboard.

"Are you okay sensei?"

"Oh, I'm fine. It's just never easy to lose a patient like that." Sakura signed off on the certificate. Looking up, she noticed the name of the deceased, Hyuuga.

"Is he a donor?"

"Yes, but most of the internal organs are beyond use."

"What about his eyes?"

"His head seems to have dodged the blast that killed him."

"Interesting, I want you to run a compatibility test with patient 00's sample and have Hanako inform the next of kin.."

"Yes ma'am."

Sakura walked quickly down the hallway to her patient's room. She moved past the guards and entered the dark room. Flipping on the switch, light flooded the room.

"Sakura, what are so excited about?"

"How did you know I was excited?"

"You still make that weird clip clop when you're excited or nervous about something. Don't you remember that weird training Kakashi put us through?"

"How could I forget?" she covered her face with her palm.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Flashback

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all sat around the training ground with their backpacks set down beside them. It was not too long after their survival test.

"I wonder what kind of training it's going to be." Naruto leaned back on the grass with his hands behind his head.

"He said it was a training mission out into the wilderness around Konoha, so it's probably something to do with foraging and survival." Sasuke thought aloud.

"Why did he have us bring rations then?" Sakura remarked, but the conversation was cut short as Kakashi appeared on top of one of the stumps.

"Yo," the jounin waved to his charges."

"For a teacher you certainly are late a lot." Sakura commented.

"It couldn't be helped. I had to help an old lady get her cat out of a tree."

"You already used that one," Sasuke commented.

"I did? Hmm"

"Don't bother coming up with another one, we're already here. Just tell us what the training is about," Naruto said as he sat up.

"That I'll explain once we have gone out into the forest just outside the walls."

The group followed their sensei out into the forest until they found a small clearing and Kakashi set his bag down. His students followed his example and sat among the grasses as he sat upon an old stump.

"What's the deal?" Naruto spoke for everyone.

"All will be revealed soon enough. You need to learn some patience Naruto."

"Yeah, yeah, get on with it."

"Since you are all so eager, I'll begin," Kakashi spoke and then cleared his throat. "This mission is…" he cut himself off and tossed a smoke bomb down at the log, cloaking him in smoke and sending his students to hacking and coughing. Before the group knew it, the three were handcuffed together with two to three foot of light cable separating them. Naruto and Sasuke were at the ends and Sakura the middle.

"What's this?" Sasuke lifted his left arm.

"That would be a tether."

"We know that!" Sakura yelled.

"It is important in the field to be able to know your teammates very well. It can mean life and death if an imposter tries to sneak into your midst, so I'm going to leave you three here to learn as much as you can about each other and sort out your differences."

"Is this what we are doing for the entire week?" Naruto spoke up.

"Oh heavens no, this particular training will last only today. Doing this particular training again would be overkill."

The three sighed in relief.

"Now, if you followed my instructions, there should be no problems. There's a stream just over that ridge, so you should have no problem with getting fresh water. I'll see you three in twenty-four hours."

"What?"

"Bye," Kakashi smiled under his mask.

To be continued…

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Anyway, I've found a donor."

"So?"

"Oh, don't start this again. I thought you decided to go through with it."

"I did, but I'm not so sure."

"Well, I have something that might make you decide."

"What could you possibly have that would make me change my mind?"

"You know how I said that it would have to be a complete transplant?"

"Of course, my memory isn't as bad as dobe's."

"There is another procedure I can perform that might mean you could recover your sight and your sharingan, but there are a few potential problems."

"Like?"

"First, you would have to choose quickly, because the donated tissues needed for the alternative procedure are here right now."

"I'm the only Uchiha left in the village, how's it possible to revive my sharingan with another person's tissues? They wouldn't be able to handle the strain."

"That's where my ingenuity comes in. I'll be using Hyuuga tissue. If I'm not mistaken the two clans are closely related and both use eye based techniques, so it should be able to handle the strain."

"You're not mistaken about the relation," Sasuke cut back with a bit of venom in his tone. Sakura eyed him curiously but let it slide for now.

"There's just one problem, the eyes of branch members are sealed after death."

"That was originally one of the problems that I thought I couldn't overcome, but after I did some research I discovered that only the byakugan related part of the eye is destroyed. When I came in here a few days ago, I discovered that the part the mangekyo destroyed was still intact after death in the Hyuuga. It's a homologous structure and is almost exactly the same in structure overall. Theoretically I should be able to restore your eyes with just that chakra distribution node."

"What's the catch?"

"It is a first of its kind surgery, so I don't know what will happen. If it works, you could have complete use of your sharingan, but if it fails you could be anywhere between that and blindness."

Sasuke sat there for a moment in reflective thought.

"When will I know if it worked?"

"Probably a week to be safe."

"I'll go along with it."

A knock came at the door.

"What is it?"

"The report on the compatibility was positive. It should take with a reasonably low chance of rejection."

"You came in here without knowing whether it was even compatible?"

"I thought I'd need a lot more time to convince you and that's time I didn't have."

"Whatever. Let's get this over with."

"Alright, prep him for surgery and retrieve the eyes from the Hyuuga."

"Yes ma'am." The nurse left and informed a number of others. Returning, she knocked on the door. "Let her pass," Sakura shouted to the guards. Entering with a cart, the young nurse stopped cold in her tracks.

"But, he's…"

"You don't have to help, but if you do I'll take all the heat."

"I'm sure you have a reason to do this," she said continuing and began to prep him for surgery.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Hinata," Tenten roused the Hyuuga heir.

"Uhh," she slowly opened her eyes.

"Your turn."

"Alright," she got up and walked toward the tree half-awake.

"Oh Hinata."

"Hmm?"

"Here" she handed her an instant photo.

'What is this?" she asked, but the picture in her hand brought her to full alertness quicker than any cup of coffee. In the picture, Naruto and Hinata's two faces were within inches of each other smiling contently. She hadn't noticed it, but when she looked over she realized that during the night he had rolled toward her in his sleep. The look on her face was priceless as Tenten couldn't help but smile gently and let out a little giggle.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Well, there we go. Hope you enjoyed it. It got a little late due to spending too much time on my other fic.


	24. Dreams

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Sakura pulled back from patient 00 and pulled the gloves from her hand.

"Wrap his eyes to protect them in case of irritation and return him to his room. He's not to remove them for a week to allow the connections to heal properly, so I'll stay with him until he wakes up and can understand the instructions."

"Yes Haruno-sensei," the assisting nurse said as they pushed him out of the operating room towards the guarded room. Sakura followed after washing up and made her way down to his room. She brought in a chair near his bed and wiped her brow.

"It's out of my hands now. I just hope this works out. "

She ran her hand over top of his and as the adrenaline wore off her eyes drooped and her head slowly found its way down beside the unconscious form of Sasuke.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

At the outpost, Chouji stood watch with another jounin and his genin. The weather was clear, so much so that one could count a million stars. The place never saw action, because of how close it was to the village, so the young ones were relatively safe.. Two of the other jounin's students fidgeted left and right looking up at the stars or tapping lightly on the wood railing, anything to pass the time that seemed to drag on indefinitely without making noise enough to raise the ire of their sensei.. The third seemed to be peering into the surrounding forest at some invisible animal, contemplating it's form very deeply.

"Penny for your thoughts." Chouji broke the dazed look in the genin's eyes.

"Oh, it's nothing," he shrugged it off.

"Didn't seem like nothing."

"Well…" the genin looked side to side. "Uzumaki-sama is my hero, and it was just really cool that I got to see him up close like that."

"Jeez… another one," Chouji said rubbing the back of his head and laughing a little.

"Another what?"

"Heh, It seems in your generation everybody seems to idolize either Naruto or Sakura."

"You know them?"

"Well, yeah. I was part of the rookie nine too."

"You were part of the rookie nine?" the little ninja's eyes shot wide.

"You didn't know?"

"Um…uh…of course I did…I just forgot for a second."

"Right…" Chouji face palmed.

Some time passed silently as the two peered into the darkness.

"So you guys grew up together?"

"More or less, we made some mischief in our academy days, but once we were assigned our squads we didn't see each other much."

"Mischief?"

"Yeah, Naruto really drove our sensei up the wall. He's still known for his legendary jokes among those that remember them."

"Like?"

"He painted graffiti all over hokage monument before they finally caught him."

"I didn't know he was ever like that."

"It doesn't surprise me. After graduation he really straightened out and began putting that ridiculous stamina into making himself stronger, though I still wouldn't call him an orthodox ninja."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard the story of his fight with Inuzuka Kiba during the Chuunin exams?"

"No"

"Heh. Well…"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Being this close to Sasuke again brought about the past again in her dreams. As her sleep deepened, she began to recall that day in the forest.

The three sat there next to the stump a little dumbfounded.

"What was he getting at with differences?"

"Maybe he thought we could turn a dobe like you into a genius like me," Sasuke smirked.

"Geniuses are overrated. I'd mop the floor with you teme!"

"In your dreams, dobe."

"Right here, right now."

"Bring it on!"

The two squared off as Sakura sighed, "Here we go again." Looking down in annoyance at the latest round of punches of her testosterone fueled teammates, she noticed the tethers sway with their blows. A smile grew over her face. As the two began to volley punches again, Sakura pulled the slack up on the ropes and yanked her teammates into each other giving them both small bumps on the head.

Naruto, the first to recover his senses, clamored to his feet and yelled at the offending kunoichi, "What was that about?"

"I finally figured out why Kakashi-sensei put me in the middle."

"And why would that be?" Sasuke followed, rubbing his head.

"To keep you two from killing each other. I'm the only one who isn't a hothead around here."

"Please, you're not much better than dobe," Sasuke commented snidely.

"And you're mister calm cool and collected? Back in the academy you had a lot of people fooled, but I know you well enough that with the right buttons you've got as short a fuse as Naruto."

The three burst into an all out brawl as they stirred up dust scrapping back and forth. Unbeknownst to them, Kakashi watched on from his arboreal hideout reading the current Icha Icha book.

"If those three don't kill each other, they'll be one heck of a tight knit group. Whether those three know it or not, they have some great potential if I can get them to cooperate more often."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hinata sat on the branch that the previous two had found to be a perfect perch to view the forest from. She had taken off her jacket to sleep as she found herself a little more confident in these past few days and besides that she was awake all by herself. The watch was merely a precaution against bandits. Unfriendly ninja rarely crossed this far into fire country, so the chances were slim that the night would bring any threat other than that of boredom. The Hyuuga heiress rubbed the precious little photo in her hand for quite a while until she decided to put it away in her pouch. so that she wouldn't lose it by accidentally dropping it or rub it to death. The watch passed quietly, except for Naruto who had by now begun to snore and mumble in his sleep. Being the only noise in the forest other than wind that gently swayed her hair, Hinata caught herself listening to what little was coherent in all his babbling.

"Hinata, I love you" Hinata gasped "…r ramen." Hinata sighed. "That's Naruto for you," she giggled to herself.

"What do you mean Naruto Jr. can't have any? Yeah, that mush is good for him, but" he continued but seemed to trail off. Hinata gasped. "Was he thinking about kids already? I really should stop listening in on this."

Luckily for Hinata, his speech became indecipherable again and she didn't have to fight her curiosity with his dreams any further.

"It's not like I'm against it," she pushed her fingers together, "but I didn't think we'd moved to the point that he was contemplating children."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"He did what!?"

"It's exactly as I said. He cut one right in his face."

The genin just stood there with jaw on the floor.

"Naruto wasn't always like you know him now. He wasn't a genius. In fact, his grades were some of the worst in our class, but he worked hard and put everything on the line to achieve his goals and with what has recently gone on I'd say he only has one goal left on his list."

"What happened recently?"

"I can't say, it's a bit of a secret. I'm not sure if even I'm supposed to know."

"Must have been big." the genin stared off into the night sky.

"Yeah"

"What's the other goal?" he said turning back to the young adult next to him.

Chouji chuckled a little to himself.

"What's funny?"

"He wants to be hokage."

"That's not funny."

"It is when that's the only thing he ever talked about when we were kids. We all thought he was a little crazy when he said it back then, but dang if he isn't well on his way."

"I guess everyone has to start from the bottom then."

"Yeah, but it's alright to have dreams, even if they seem a little far fetched, because those are the things that guide our futures," Chouji mussed the genin's hair with his hand

" I'm gonna be the best shinobi I can be, until everyone knows me too."

"That's a good start, but remember choosing a future is like picking out a bag of potato chips. There are many to try and sampling a few of your friends' isn't a bad idea, but you need to eventually pick your own bag after a good deal of thought and choose one you won't regret later."

"O…kay…"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Come on can't we get a break!" shouted the youngest shinobi as he adjusted the strap on the heavy scroll.

"Shut up. Do you want Ichirou to yell at us again? The sun will come up in a few hours and we can take a break.," Jirou whispered to his younger brother.

"Hmph" the young man pouted a little and hurtled forward at pace with the group. "Just because I'm the youngest I gotta do all the grunt work." Shirou grumbled to himself.

"This is gonna be a long trip back to Oto," Ichirou mumbled to himself.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The night wore on and it was time to wake up Naruto for his shift. Hinata hopped down from her perch and walked over to his bag. Reaching down she pushed on his shoulder and whispered "Naruto-kun."

Naruto pressed his lids together more tightly and rolled over grumbling incoherently. She nudged him a little more seriously and blue eyes flickered open. Naruto yawned and stretched, rolling back over on his back awake and slowly becoming more alert.

"Time for my shift?" Naruto said as he slipped out from his sleeping bag.

"Yes. Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"Yeah, had some weird dreams though. You?"

"Uh, I guess it was okay so far."

"That's good" he said becoming alert once more and picking his jacket up. Hinata crawled back into her sleeping bag. About the time he got to the tree the clouds, concealed from the group by the dense canopy, that had been gathering began to drip from the heavens, slowly growing in strength. Hinata woke and began to get up when Naruto tossed his jacket over her to protect her from the rain. She began to peek out from under his jacket as Naruto snapped out several clones that made quick work of the two two-man tents. Reaching into his bag, the now wet Naruto grabbed his slicker and threw it on.

"Your jacket," Hinata pulled back the flap a little.

"Just set it with my bag," the young man waved and climbed up the tree.

Hinata snuck a little smell and placed it on his bag. Smiling a little, she crawled in her bag and dozed off once more.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Alright, sorry about the wait. I had a little writer's block after finals, but I feel I'm back in the groove of things. The dream has multiple meanings from what I think and what I've read. The first, more obvious one is the increasing thoughts of Hinata, and the growth in feelings for her, but it has an underlying meaning as well. While Naruto has had many father figures and Tsunade as a sort of mother figure, the guy brings real meaning to "It takes a village to raise a child," , Hinata would be his first consistent major soothing female influence. The child speaks more to Naruto's inner child, which he wants to feed ramen, but Hinata contends that he feed it what's good for it, rather than what he's used to so he can become more mature and grow . The sound-nin are brothers and I was rather lazy with their name meanings first son, second son, third son, and fourth son.


	25. Ichiban

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto.

Hinata rolled back and forth in her sleeping bag fighting the waking world. Lavender eyes shot open to view green canvas with the loud crack of a thunderclap and a flash of lightning that illuminated even the interior of the tent. Convinced she wouldn't be getting any sleep anytime soon with this storm, she peered out the cabin flaps at Naruto. He seemed to be looking around from his spot, checking the area for anyone that might be a threat… and shivering. Hinata wiped her slightly sleepy eyes and dug into her bag. She donned her slicker, retrieved something small, wrapped it in a handkerchief and placed it in her pocket. Placing her hood over her head, she stepped out of the tent towards Naruto. Leaping up, she sat down beside him on the branch.

"Hinata? What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep and I saw you were shivering, so I came up to see you."

"There's no reason for both of us to be miserable with this rain."

"That's why I brought something with me. Hold out your hand."

"Okay," he did as he was asked and suddenly his hand felt warmer. Hinata's hand clasped his around the little bag.

"It's a little hand warmer, it's not much, but it'll keep your hands from getting too cold. I'm only glad I didn't take them out of my bag when winter ended."

"Thank you Hinata," Naruto replied gratefully with a slightly shivering smile.

"Mhm," she smiled back.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hinata hadn't been the only one awoken by the thunder. Tenten and Neji both found themselves awake as well. Tenten unzipped the bag and stepped out.

"You're not going out there are you?" Neji asked, blinking heavily.

"Of course not, I'm coming in."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm zipping our bags together."

'Why?"

"It's cold," she said as she zipped the two bags together and climbed in next to him.

"W-w-what if someone sees us?" Neji became a little flustered.

"We're not doing anything shameful. We're just conserving body heat like we did this winter," she tucked her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "Besides, those two seem to be more interested in each other than us," she pointed out of the gap where the flap was slightly ajar to show the two holding hands on the branch.

"Fine," he said giving in and wrapping his arms around her.

"I swear, you'd think we'd been dating for two weeks, not two years when other people are around."

"They don't know that."

"Shut up," Tenten nuzzled her head against his chest and fell asleep.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto and Hinata sat on the branch switching positions every once in a while so that the other hand would get warm. The pitter patter of the rain on their coats and the smell of the storm were drowned out by that moment together. It wasn't to last though as hail began bouncing around the trees.

"Let's get inside the tent. Nobody would brave this storm."

"Yeah," Naruto said as they both hopped down and ran for the cover of their tent.

They both sighed in relief and shot a smile towards the other. Naruto pulled back his hood first and watched as Hinata removed hers as well. Her black hair fell down in waves over the back of her slicker. It seemed to be almost slow motion as she turned and gave him her gentle smile. Something stirred in him at that moment.

"Why is my heart beating so fast? Is it because of the run? Is it because of the thunder? Why can't I take my eyes off of her? Why do I have this sudden urge to…" Naruto thought to himself as Hinata turned to face him.

"Why is Naruto looking at me that way?" she looked quizzically at her tentmate.

Her answer was given to her before one more thought could cross her mind as all of the world faded into the background and she felt his lips on hers. She closed her eyes and slipped briefly into a world where only the two of them existed in the entire world. Neither of them knew exactly what spurred it, but neither of them really cared, because for that moment they were in paradise.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Sasuke regained consciousness. Judging by the silence in the hall he knew it was still early morning. Pain rang through his head like kunai were being jammed into his eyes.

"Gah," Sasuke gripped his head.

"Sasuke…" Sakura groaned sleepily as she came back to the waking world. Seeing him reach for his eyes she immediately captured his hands and dragged them down. "You can't, you'll ruin the surgery!"

"Gaah," Sasuke yelled out in agony. Sakura gripped his hands tightly.

"Nurse!" she yelled to the door which quickly caught the attention of a nurse who passed through with no pause from the guards.

"Yes?"

"Increase the painkiller dosage by twenty percent."

She quickly rushed to the other side of the bed and adjusted the drip. The Uchiha seemed to slowly calm down and dropped his hands down to his side in relief.

"I'm sorry. I didn't anticipate the pain being this much. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay now. How did the surgery go?" his said softly as the drug started to relax him.

"There weren't any complications during surgery, but we won't know anything for a week. I don't want you to even attempt to use those eyes for at least that long to give them time to heal."

"I've dealt with it this long. I can handle not seeing for another week."

"I'm glad you understand. I'm going to go get some sleep in the on call room. If you need anything call for someone to get me," Sakura got up and started to walk out.

"Sakura," Sasuke called.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you," he whispered, his face turned away from her.

"Get some sleep. Rest will be good for those eyes," Sakura said back with a gentle tone and a small smile dragging across her lips.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Their lips parted, the two spent a moment in stunned silence. Hinata quickly sent her hand to touch her lips as pink hit her cheeks

"Our first kiss," Hinata thought excitedly, the situation finally dawning on her as her eyes became as big as saucers.

"She has a weird look on her face. Did I do it wrong? Should I have waited?" he thought to himself, a little nervously.

"I know this is a dream come true but you can't faint here., not now." she spurred herself on, but she couldn't keep herself up and started to faint. Naruto caught her in his arms as she was falling back.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Neji couldn't sleep a wink with Tenten in his arms, her hair let down for sleep and the small coos she made while she slept. He was more than happy with having her so close, but if something came up it could be a problem if Naruto or Hinata happened to pass by. Deciding to quell his fears, he activated his Byakugan and looked outside. The two weren't there, so he looked into the tent and saw something unnerving for the one charged with keeping the two on a virtuous path. Naruto holding her in what seemed like a compromising position.. He immediately flew out of the bed to the great disturbance of Tenten, who swore she'd gut him if there wasn't a good reason for this interruption of her sleep.

"Uzumaki!" Neji yelled as he threw open the tent.

"Huh?" Naruto managed to get out before Neji dragged him out of the tent by the neck of his shirt and stood him up. By now Hinata had regained her senses and upon seeing Neji drag Naruto out she chased after him.

"You lewd dog!"

"Neji!," Hinata yelled at him.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto replied, still confused about the situation.

"You know what you two were about to do. I don't care if she dates you or not, but I won't have this and that happening on my watch."

Temari clambered out of bed and the tent stretching and yawning. "What's with all the yelling and why are you holding Naruto like that?"

"Uhh…" Neji stuttered, trying to think of a way to explain the situation. Tenten looked on somewhere between annoyed and amused. "Well I…"

"He thought Naruto and I… were going to…do… do this and that, but we weren't!" Hinata started at a stumble but gradually grew in strength to a yell.

"Hinata…" Naruto was surprised by her sudden burst.

"Is that all?" Temari laughed a little.

"What's so funny?" Neji snapped.

"That you thought Hinata… and Naruto…" she couldn't help but laugh at the prospect.

"What do you mean?"

"Just look at them. She's wobbly from the mere thought of it."

Naruto had pulled himself away from Neji by now and was helping the other Hyuuga keep herself upright.

"Go back to bed and leave those two alone."

"But…"

"No buts. We've got forty-five minutes before we need to get ready to go and we all need some rest."

"Fine," Neji conceded, to the surprise of the others.

Everyone retreated to the tents where Naruto picked up his jacket and threw it on. As he made his way towards the door, he turned back.

"Hinata."

"What is it Naruto-kun?"

"I'm sorry if you weren't ready for earlier," he replied, his face growing a slight shade of pink.

"No no no," she waved her hands in front of her, "it just surprised me."

"Phew, I'm glad," he wiped his brow and stepped outside.

"Naruto-kun was worried?" she thought to herself

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Flashback

As the dust settled, the three genin found themselves tangled up in their tethers and nearly immobile.

"Move it dobe, you stink," Sasuke grumbled.

"Why don't you try moving teme?"

"Because I'm on bottom you idiot."

Sakura sighed. "Looks like I'm the voice of reason again," she thought to herself as she lifted an arm.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"What?"

"Could you move your left leg away from you?"

"Why?"

"I'm trying to get us all apart and if your leg clears Naruto's we can all take little moves and get out of this pile."

"Fine," he whipped his leg out and through various steps the three of them managed to separate and breathe a little easier.

"So what now?" Naruto asked.

"I guess we should set up camp, so we don't have to do it later." Sakura suggested.

The three managed to set up the campsite and build a small fire pit out of some nearby rocks.

"We still need firewood."

"Heh, I got it," Naruto grinned. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" he called out but the jutsu failed to produce any replicates. "Huh?'

"Baka these are prison work bonds. They're designed to keep ninja from molding chakra. I noticed the markings when we were trying to get untangled."

"So you mean?"

"Yes, we all have to go get firewood"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Man , this writer is really dragging his heels on this story. He doesn't update in a long time and he doesn't move more than an hour or so forward in time," the youngest brother whined.

"Give him a break, the only thing predictable in this fic has been your whining every chapter about that scroll."

"Are you two breaking the fourth wall back there?"

"Noooo…" the two answered pushing through the pouring rain and looking off to the side.

"Good."

"I wonder when we're going to get to fire country? We've been running for chapters now and this scroll is ridiculous," he thought as he bounced along the trees.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Well, hope you enjoyed this most recent installment of Hidden Treasure. I think I ticked off my muse, because she's been awfully fickle lately.


	26. Direction

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"What am I going to do with you Sakura?" Tsunade said as she rubbed her temples facing out towards the village, just beginning to see the rays of the morning sun sweep over it.

"I thought…"

"No you didn't! That's the problem!" she snapped at her apprentice.

Sakura stood there in stunned silence at the anger that was playing across the hokage's face.

"When I approved the method, I did not give you authorization to perform it, least of all by yourself," Tsunade began to calm down, her voice carrying more disappointment and concern now than anger.

"Yes, but when are we going to have an opportunity like that again? It's not everyday that we have a matching donor and there wasn't a single patient in need of those eyes."

"While that may be true, you've put both of us in a particularly sticky political situation."

"What do you mean?" Sakura came closer to her master.

"The advisors aren't happy with having Sasuke back in the village. To be honest, if the villagers knew where to find him, they'd probably kill him where he lay," she turned around to face Sakura. "That's why I chose you to be in charge of his care. I knew you'd take care of him," she implied something more than friendly feelings.

"It's that obvious?" Sakura looked away at one of the buildings.

"Somewhat, but I had help in the matter," she took a seat at her desk moving papers aside. "Kakashi," she called out and a white plume pushed its way through the door.

"Yo!" he uttered his familiar greeting and clicked the door closed behind him.

"Now, you've gone and done something reckless and we have to come up with something. Right, Kakashi?"

"From what you told me earlier it seems we ought to just let it sit. We don't know if the surgery was a complete success anyway," he rubbed the back of his head lazily.

"Yes, but what if it was a success? Its pretty useless to have a meeting for the simplest outcome," Tsunade crossed her arms and leaned back.

"Well, I guess you're right there."

"Of course," Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"By the way, where's Naruto?" Kakashi glanced around the room.

"He's on a mission," Sakura answered.

"I see. When is he due back?"

"He left yesterday, so I'd guess a week to a week and a half, but he has Neji, Hinata and Tenten with him, so I imagine it'll lean towards the earlier," Sakura explained.

"My my that's an interesting team you've got there," he rubbed his chin. "Sounds like an important search mission with heavy combat. Two Hyuugas and Naruto is a bit of overkill don't you think?"

"Not for this situation, and let's get back to the matter at hand," Tsunade brought the derailing conversation back on track. "How do we deal with this in a way that would be most beneficial to our current situation? You two know him the best of anyone aside from Naruto."

"Well, I've got a couple ideas." Kakashi stroked his masked chin and gained a more serious expression.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

After a light breakfast and packing up, the group started again toward outpost four. The terrain was the same as it had been the entire trip, but the mood among the group was definitely different . Hinata and Naruto were hanging closer than usual and Naruto was towards the back of the formation with her, unusual for Naruto who usually took point. Tenten thought it would be a good idea to get everyone's mind back on track after the morning's unrest.

"Naruto and Neji, you guys fought with some Sound-nin before, right?"

"Yes," Neji answered

"Can you tell us anything about them?"

"It's hard to say. The ones we fought were all killed, but that doesn't mean that they were unique."

"They did all have those weird seals that made them pretty tough," Naruto added in.

"Yes, don't be surprised if they appear to have growing tattoos or markings on their bodies and a sudden increase in strength or a mutation. Though they will become powerful for a while, the seal seems to put an enormous strain on their bodies and cannot be maintained for extended periods without resulting in a completely drained opponent."

"So, the power seems to come from an immensely increased chakra flow?" Hinata asked.

"Yes," Neji answered back

"If we were able to seal their tenketsu with a few gentle fist techniques, we could probably remove the advantage."

"That would probably work if we could get enough of a distraction to get in close. The already strained chakra points might snap under the pressure."

"Heh, I'm on the team and you're worried about a distraction," Naruto laughed to Neji's chagrin.

"It's not that simple. We don't know what kind of abilities they may posses and besides that you never fought someone with the mutation aspect."

"Yes, I did." Naruto became a bit more sullen. "Sasuke had that weird ability too," his voice trailed away.

"I see," Neji withdrew his comment.

Hinata wanted to something to cheer him out of that gloomy state she'd only rarely been exposed to. She wasn't sure how, but she knew it was something she needed to do.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"What did you have in mind?" Tsunade tapped her pen on the desk.

"Well, it seems to me we know quite a few things about his personality that could be advantageous," he leaned against a wall.

"He's moronically proud and he hates Naruto," Sakura started. "Where does that get us?"

"Come now Sakura, you know those two better than that. Sasuke never really hated Naruto. He was more or less afraid of how strong he was becoming compared to himself, even though he was light years ahead of most of his classmates. If Orochimaru hadn't offered him power, you three would have become the greatest shinobi team the Leaf had ever produced."

"Please don't talk in the past tense sensei…"

"That is what may yet save him," he flashed a thumbs up.

"What do you mean?"

"To be honest, you and Naruto are idiots… to anyone standing outside of course," he quickly corrected himself as Sakura readied a blow that would have required some serious repair work to the hokage's office… and to her sensei.

Clearing his throat he began again, "You two have a lot of faith in Sasuke. While a direct approach might hurt his pride and repulse or annoy him, if we could work around it we might still be able to turn him around."

"What do you suggest?" Tsunade leaned her chin lightly on her palm.

"Well, the biggest issue is keeping him here. The operation has helped and hurt things a bit. Naruto's out of town, so it'll be a bit harder to contain him without him, but putting this much faith in him may massage his ego a bit," he paused a moment before continuing. " Right now, the best thing we can do is let Sakura take care of him for a while and give him a reason to stay. Besides that, I think that Sai could be of some help in the matter."

"Why Sai?"

"Sai doesn't really care whether he comes or goes."

"In what universe does that help anything?" Sakura was a little irritated.

"Sasuke's heard it from you two to no end. If he talks with a third party like Sai who has been with us and seen what he means to you guys, maybe he'll take it a little more to heart. Besides, as much as he tries to cut the bonds you three share, he can't. He might even end up a little jealous of Sai's bonds, though he won't admit it."

"I hope for everyone's sake you're right sensei," she turned to see a hawk land in a nearby tree next to it's mate sitting on the nest.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Afternoon had set in when outpost four came into view. The four landed and approached the main entrance. A young, very nervous looking chuunin popped into consciousness from the apparent slumber he'd fallen into on duty and pointed the end of his ninjato at Neji's face, to which the latter didn't flinch.

"Who goes there?" he yelled nervously. This was quickly met with a pop on the top of the head by a rather large and grizzled individual that had arrived at the door at the noise the young ninja was making.

"Kid, you shouldn't make so much noise. Also, you might want to lower that blade of yours, considering that they're wearing our hitai-ite."

"I'm… I'm sorry," the young man put away his blade and bowed deeply for forgiveness.

"You'll have to excuse him. He's pretty new here and isn't quite used to things."

"It's nothing to be concerned over," Neji dismissed the event entirely. The man took a second look at the group.

"Wow, they must be awfully serious about this thing to send so many hot shots down towards my sleepy end of the country."

The chuunin, now very much awake, looked more carefully at the ninja he'd just threatened.

"You're Uzumaki Naruto! And you're Hyuuga Neji! "You're Hyuuga Hinata! Wow, even Tenten!" They all were struck a bit off by the fan standing in front of them.

"Even?" Tenten puzzled.

"It's just such an honor to meet you all!" the young man burst into a streak of energy like a younger Naruto might have done had he met the Fourth face to face. This was brought to a quick end by a slam upon the head by a kunoichi who happened to be sitting on the roof.

"Seriously, You're way too noisy Seikou!" the green haired kunoichi scolded her teammate. "I can't hear anything over you. What's all the racket about? "

"Can't you see these guys?"

"Yeah, they're leaf shinobi. What's the big deal?"

"Don't you know who they are?"

"Uh, those two are Hyuugas and the blonde guy is called… uh…Chasu?"

The group face-faulted.

A/N: Chasu is a pork topping for ramen.

"What's going on?" a young woman poked her head sleepily out the doorway.

"Go back to bed Atsuko," the elder man grumbled. We don't need you exhausting yourself after pulling the night watch. Our guests will still be here when you get up for your shift. We can take care of them just fine without you."

"That may not be entirely true. As soon as we have picked up the new reports it would be wise for us to leave immediately, so as to capture them as quickly as possible."

"Pshaw, there's still quite a bit of time before they get here. It seems Suna nearly caught your target when they got stuck in the muck in River Country last night, so they shouldn't be even at the border until this time tomorrow, if Suna doesn't catch them first."

"There is still a two or three day hike to get there from here," Neji countered.

"You seem to be in an awful rush young man. There's no need to be so hasty. The terrain between here and their location forms a giant funnel. It doesn't matter if we take a single step from this spot. They have to go through this pass to get where they're going. Besides, you guys look like you've been moving at a breakneck pace trying to get here. At least rest here where you can get off the cold ground and get a warm meal. A tired shinobi is an inefficient shinobi."

"Come on Neji, it's either this place or sleeping on the ground again," Tenten prodded.

"Fine, but we leave first thing in the morning. I won't have Suna doubting us as allies."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Hey Ichirou"

"What is it?" he grumbled.

"Something's wrong with the compass."

"What's wrong?"

"It always seems to point to my left when I try to read it, but when I lift it off my wrist it goes in a completely different direction."

"Everybody stop!" he rubbed his forehead in frustration. They all landed on a nearby tree. "Saburou, what do we have now that we didn't have before we left Suna?"

"Uh, we have the scroll."

"And…"

The sibling thought for a second. "I stole these gloves from that guard we killed."

"What do those gloves have that your other one's didn't?"

"Oh, I wanted them because they have the cool little steel plate… on the back," he slowly realized what was going on when he set the compass on his wrist to steady it. Ichirou quickly smacked him with his elbow.

"So do you mean… I've been lugging this thing… in the wrong… freaking… direction since we ran into those Sand guys last night!" Joushirou snapped and went after his brother attempting to strangle him, but was quickly stopped by his eldest brother.

"Now is not the time for this, You can kill him when we get back to Oto. Right now, we need to reorient ourselves with any landmarks we can find. Spread out and look for one. Remain stealthy and do not be seen. We can't be far from the Konoha border."

_____________________________________________________________________________________


	27. Why I Love the Moon

Just like always, I claim no ownership of Naruto. Thanks for your patience in the long long long long long wait.

"Bring me my sake!" roared the beastly ogre of a man as he slammed his large wooden cup upon the arm of his rocky throne. In the depths of the damp cave, trembling footsteps could be heard among the drops of water falling from the ceiling. The servant poured his drink and quickly scampered back behind the half majestic throne and into the dark of the cave. Light played with darkness as the shifting sun cast light in ribbons through the crimson curtain that hung as a door.

"So you decide to grace us with your presence miss," a mountain of a man chuckled to himself in the chair at the dark end of the cavernous room that bore an Oto symbol just above the entrance hidden amongst the moss and dense vegetation that made the chamber almost impossible to see.

"I told you I would return when the final preparations were near," she tilted her glasses up. From the open doorway behind her, a stream of light blazed into the meagerly lit hall.

"That you did, but you failed to tell me how many of my men you would lose in the attempt," his fiendish hands gripped tight his cup, only barely avoiding crushing it in his mighty clutches as his ire became more apparent.

"Cool your head please Otokage, or do you have a better plan to raise this place from ruin after Orochimaru-sama's demise?"

The man closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"That's what I thought. Do not fret, your men are only captives, if everything goes as planned they will be returned to you when this all comes to fruition."

"It had better work," he stared with burning eyes at the distant figure.

"I wouldn't have tried it if I didn't believe it would work. Now, as to the final preparations…"

"Come inside, it ain't the Ritz, but it's a good deal better than being on the ground," the man waved them to follow him into the two story fort. The squad followed with Seiko and Haruko following in behind, the latter twirled her green hair gazing off into the distance as they approached.

The fort was not unlike the ones Yamato made, but it was obviously built by hand rather than jutsu. It's base was slightly raised off the ground and the second floor had a walk that surrounded it with a few planters hanging off of the sides. Large clumps of moss and vines seemed to grow on it, suggesting it had been in existence for quite some time, The trees were cleared back from the building by about fifteen feet all around, though they leaned in and covered it from above, aside from a small gap over the center of the roof. The surrounding area was not completely barren as acacia plants bordered along the side.

As they entered, they found the main hall to not be as Spartan as they had been accustomed to. The room was covered in flowers and the sight and smell of them was enough to take one aback with their beauty.

"Ah, so you've noticed Atsuko's pet project," the old man laughed.

"They are quite beautiful," Tenten replied, inspecting a petal.

"Her clan is well known for their green thumbs. She has grown so many herbs for healing that we haven't even begun to touch our supply yet. She got bored, so she started growing flowers to brighten up the place. I'm not sure if I'm particularly thrilled with having an outpost covered in flowers, but it keeps her busy and in good spirits."

"Atsuko… she was the one that you ordered back to bed?" Neji asked.

"Oh yes, I forgot to introduce you to my squad, how thoughtless of me. I'm Takeshi. The young woman you saw earlier was Atsuko. This young man is Seikou," he indicated the brown haired, brown eyed ninja with spiky hair and a blue forehead protector.

"Yo," he mock saluted with a cheesy grin.

"Last, but not least, this is Haruko," he indicated the kunoichi.

"You got that right, Seiko is the least here," she cackled.

"Like you've got room to talk algae hair" Seikou growled.

"You little punk!" she snagged the front of his shirt.

The two didn't keep this up for long as they found themselves lifted by their collars.

"Always like cats and dogs these two, " he set them on the ground, but kept hold of them. "Now, what do we say to each other and to our guests who have come all this way?"

"Sorry," she turned her head away in disgust and sat down in a nearby wheeled chair..

"Uh… sorry about that," Seikou laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, we got a message earlier that you were coming and that you should call once you get in" he pointed at the long range radio.

"Why don't you help our guests get their bags put away, Seikou?"

"Fine," he lightly grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Yes, sir." he corrected himself

"Why don't Naruto and I get the bags upstairs, while you contact the village?" Hinata suggested.

"Why…" Neji started to ask when he was poked gently in the side by Tenten who saw the look in her eye as she took Tenten's bag.

"Come on Naruto," Hinata smiled and reached for his hand behind his back. Naruto took Neji's bag and the hand offered to him, a little surprised.

"The rooms are right up these stairs. Please follow me," the young man indicated them to follow in behind, which they did with their hands now exposed to the group.

As soon as the three had left the room Haruko cackled, "So how long have those two been knockin' boots?"

"Haruko!" the old man snapped at her as Neji nearly exploded, though only Tenten could tell with that mask of his.

"It's just a question," she shrugged her shoulders.

"An extremely inappropriate one. If you'll remember this is why you were sent out here. You need to learn how to be more tactful."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked something like that."

"I'll thank you not to impugn my cousin's honor in the future," Neji crossed his arms.

"Wow, you guys sure are stiff today."

"Why don't you bring up the village on the line, Haruko, before somebody does something they regret," he spun the young lady's chair over to the radio set.

"Yes, sir", she said reluctantly, reaching over and grabbing the headset while fiddling with a couple knobs. "Hey Denpatanchiki, it's Haruko, could you patch us through to the Hokage…thanks."

"So, the guys will sleep here," he opened the door to an empty room, "and the women will sleep here," he opened the other door to another empty room. The two broke off and placed the bags in the respective rooms.

As soon as he finished, Naruto noticed Hinata on the railed porch outside the room reserved for the women.

"What's up Hinata?"

"Oh, I just noticed this hanging box and decided to have a look," she gave a slight smile.

"That's a lot of flowers," he looked down into the overflowing box.

"Yep, it even has my favorite, purple pansies," she said pointing at some flowers on the right side.

"Oh," Naruto peered his head over to look at them, unintentionally bringing his face a little close to hers. As he looked, he felt two warm soft lips press against his cheek.

"Hinata…" he whispered and reached his hand to his face as he grew just a slight tinge of pink. Hinata smiled and giggled slightly.

"Now we're even," she said as she reached out for his hand, neither aware that they were being observed.

"I see," Neji said, "we'll continue the mission first thing in the morning."

"Good," Tsunade replied, "oh, and Hyuuga Hiashi wishes to speak to you."

The two talked for a few moments.

"Understood," he said and set down the headset.

"What was that about?" Tenten asked.

"I'll tell you later," Neji said indifferently and went upstairs.

"Clip clip," footfalls could he heard heading down the hall.

"No, it's too heavy to be Sakura."

"Clip clip," they grew louder, closer.

It's too light and not the right time of day for the guards to change," Sasuke meshed his fingers together and leaned his head on his hand.

"Clip clip," the footfalls neared the door.

"It's too orderly to be Naruto and too loud to be Kakashi. Who is this?" Sasuke thought as the door slowly creaked open and the subject of his intense observation stepped inside. A thought crossed his mind in a flash and a slight grin crossed his face.

"So they decided to send what amounts to my replacement here to try to kill me again, eh?" Sasuke laughed a little smugly.

"No way," Sai started up a fake cheery tone," if I had meant to kill you, you would be dead by now."

"Did you pick up Naruto's sense of humor too?" Sasuke relaxed back on the bed. Sai said not a word in reply, but simply sat and read his book in silence. The only sounds in the room were breathing and the occasional page turn. At first it didn't bother him because silence was an everyday part of life as a shinobi, but as the minutes ticked away Sai's presence grew from a mere anomaly to an irritation.

"So, did one of those two idiots send you here to try to convince me of some will of fire nonsense?" he aimed his face halfway towards Sai as he spoke.

"Who are you referring to? I know quite a few idiots," he didn't look up from his book.

"Who else?"

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to spell it out for me," he closed his book with his finger inside to hold the page.

"Naruto and Sakura of course. Are you some kind of idiot?"

"Perhaps," he went back to his book.

"Heh, well as far as I'm concerned everybody on that team has a habit of being idiots, so I imagine you fit right in" he leaned back on the bed and stretched his arms back to cradle his head.

"Doesn't that extend to former members as well?"

"Hah, that's a good one, but you don't see me chasing down someone who clearly doesn't want to come back."

"Ah, but who is the one relaxing his guard so much with an assassin in the room?"

"I'm not worried about you, you're too close with those two to do anything."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. If you come back over, they'll probably group you with Team Kakashi again. You've done nothing but cause them pain, so I'll just end you and play it off as 'that madman Sasuke attacked me'," he said with his smiling mask, the chill in his voice resonating.

"You're that attached to those idiots?"

"They may be idiots, but they are my friends and comrades. You had that once, remember? Or has your memory become as rotten as the rest of you? You're just garbage, and I don't mind taking out the trash," Sai said in an ice cold monotonous tone.

"Oh, my memory is just fine. I remember quite well what happened to my clan and how they used and cast away my brother, and I will have my revenge in due time."

"Well, then you have a conundrum, idiot."

"What are you blabbering about this time?"

"You are the last Uchiha, are you not?"

"Of course."

"Well, if you get your revenge you'll have nowhere to run. The whole ninja world will be after you, even more than they are now. You can't rebuild the clan without children, and you can't run effectively with a wife and child. You have to choose, revenge or rebuilding the clan."

"I'll do both. With my restored eyesight, no one will be able to stop me."

"Now look who's being an idiot," he smirked and flipped a page.

"Whatever," he rolled over so that he was facing away from Sai.

"Well, I think I've wasted enough time here. Sakura was right about you," the artist closed his book and stood up. Sasuke just ignored him.

"Don't sleep too deeply tonight," he smiled through a mask as he slipped out the door. On the spine of his very worn out book read, "How to Deal with Stubborn Goal-Oriented People".

A small sigh drifted out from a nearby window. The two spun around to see Atsuko duck behind the window flower box on the other side of the wall.

"I'm sorry, did we wake you?" Hinata asked the seemingly empty room.

"Oh, no no I just couldn't sleep, so I was tending to some of my plants," she laughed nervously a little and waved her hand in dismissal. "I'm sorry if I interrupted something."

"Oh no, we were just talking a bit and admiring the flowers," Hinata said as she twirled her hair a little and looked a little downwardly.

"Naruto, could you come with me, we need to get some firewood," Neji asked as he stood at the doorway, having just arrived and missed the kiss. Naruto could see the wood pile was stacked to the brim, but he followed him down the stairs anyway.

"See ya later," he flashed a slightly subdued version of his big goofy grin at Hinata, who waved with a small smile. As they went out of sight, Atsuko spoke up.

"I hope you don't mind too much, but can I ask you something a little personal?" Atsuko squirmed a little.

"What would that be?" she turned back to Atsuko.

"How long have you two been going out," she whispered.

"Uh… not long," a slight pink tinge graced her cheek.

"Ah, I see," she smiled softly.

"Why?"

"Well it's a little bit embarrassing, but I've been a fan of yours for a while Hyuuga-dono,"

"A fan?" a small show of surprise came over Hinata's face.

"Yeah, almost everyone in the Rookie Nine has a fan club. We're not as big as some of the others, but we don't let that stop us. We really look up to you, so it's nice to actually get to meet you. You're… kinda my hero," her eyes brightened a little.

"W-well I'm flattered. I didn't know anyone looked up to me. I knew Naruto had one, but I haven't really done anything amazing like he has," she bounced her fingertips off each other.

Atsuko shook her head in response.

"It's not all about the things you've done. We just think you're a really cool person. You are super determined, but you don't lose your temper." she grew a bit more excited with each word" You're so calm and serene and pretty… and you're just so cool…" she trailed off, shrinking a bit.

"Thank you," Hinata smiled softly, to which Atsuko gradually inflated back to herself.

"I don't want to be a bother, but can I ask you something?" her voice grew soft.

"What is it?"

"Are you serious about her," Neji absent-mindedly picked up a small fallen branch.

"What?" Naruto poked his head out of the thicket he was looking in.

"Are you serious about Hinata?" Neji repeated himself, slightly annoyed.

"I guess I'm as serious as somebody who has been dating for as long as we have can be."

"Just know that if you hurt her, you'll have some serious trouble on your hands," his voice almost growled.

"Why so serious all of a sudden? I mean, you're always serious, but I don't remember you being like this before," his eyes widened a little in surprise.

"Dating someone like Hinata isn't like dating other girls. She's special."

"I already knew that. She's so sweet and innocent and kind and stuff ..and," he was cut off by Neji's interjection.

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the fact she's the future head to the Hyuuga clan. Whoever she marries will be at the top of the clan with her. If you hurt her, you'll have kunai at your throat."

"Why are you being so protective lately? You didn't say thing one to me until this mission."

"Just don't hurt her. You are her everything. I don't pretend to understand why she loves you so much, but she's been walking on air lately at home. If you hurt her, you'll crush her."

"I got it already. You don't have to worry so much. Hinata and I are going great. It's weird, to tell you the truth, I've never felt so at peace than when I'm with her. It's like everything is falling in place."

"Naruto…" Neji looked a little surprised.

"Well, I knew you liked Naruto for a long time and I'd heard rumors that you two were going out…. But I didn't mean to pry or anything! It's just, there's someone I like too, but I have a hard time raising the courage and then I get so nervous. I have a bad habit of planting when I'm nervous about things, so… yeah. I'm sorry if I'm rambling…" she got a little a hold of herself.

"I know what you're going through. It isn't easy, but you should try and tell him directly how you feel. You never know, he might like you back."

"What if he doesn't like me? You got lucky and Naruto likes you back, but what if he doesn't like me."

"Well than that is just his loss isn't it? You seem like a really sweet young lady and if he doesn't like you back then it is simply his loss."

"Well, I don't know if I'm ready."

"Don't wait too long. If he's a good man he'll have other women looking at him too," Hinata smiled gently.

"I just hope Seiko doesn't laugh at me when I tell him."

"If he's worth having he won't, and if he does I've picked up a prank or two from Naruto you could use as maiden's revenge ," she patted her on the shoulder and whispered a couple things to her.

"Thanks" she seemed to calm down and her smile grew bit by bit.

After dinner, the happy party settled in for planning the next moves.

"They'll have to come through this pass in order to get back to Oto., so we should probably try to intercept them near here, so we shouldn't go too far out and use the terrain to capture them. I suggest we set some traps in this pass while Hinata and I split up to search with the Byakugan while Naruto you take the westernmost point of the diamond so that you can spread your clones out to find the enemy. Tenten will stay and mind the gap in case they manage to get by our net. As soon as we spot them radio in and don't take action until we have all caught up to them. The traps should slow them down significantly while they try to get through." Neji summarized the plan they had made.

"When we get there I'll distract them while you and Hinata take them out before they can get started." Naruto continued.

"Sounds like an excellent plan you four have come up with," the old man said as he looked over their shoulders at the map they were working off of.

"That said, I think we should all get a nice bath and a rest because we could be chasing them a while," Tenten added in.

"Yeah, good idea. Let's not stay up too late. We want to leave early in the morning." Neji added.

"We'll go first and you gentlemen will go later," Tenten smiled.

Naruto walked out of the room and into the front yard, leaped up to the top of the roof and looked up at the moon which was beginning to really show contrast to the early night sky.

"What are you doing up here?" Seiko asked as he approached from behind Naruto.

"The girls are getting cleaned up, so I thought I'd get some fresh air and maybe look at the moon a bit," he smiled and stared skyward.

"It's a nice moon, but why do you wanna stare at it?" he asked, confused.

"Dunno, lately it just makes me happy for some reason. I couldn't tell you why," he rubbed the back of his head.

"Uhm, Uzumaki-sempai."

"What is it?"

"I was wondering if you could teach me something before you left."

"Hmm, well I don't know that any of my techniques I can teach you to use in the time we'll be here."

"Its okay, just a tip or two will do. I wanna be a great ninja like you when I'm your age."

"Hmm, a pointer. I guess I have a couple little words of advice."

"That's great!"

"There's no shortcut to being a great shinobi. Hard work is the only way. Teamwork is one of the most important things as a shinobi. You never know who they'll put you with, so you need to be accepting of a lot of weird people. Finally, keep your eyes open. You never know when a great chance will come your way."

"Thanks, I'll keep that stuff in mind."

A hatch popped open on the roof behind them and Hinata popped her head up as she climbed the stairs to the roof. Her wet shimmering black hair leaked from the white towel she had draped on her head. She was already dressed for bed with a purple t-shirt on and some pajama pants.

"Oh, so here you are. You might want to get in the bath before it gets cold," she smiled. "What are you doing up here?"

"I'm just talking with Seiko here and looking up at the moon," he said pointing up.

"The moon is certainly nice tonight," she looked up too.

Looking at her through the corner of his eye he saw the moonlight reflecting off her skin and hair and how they shimmered and almost glowed under the moonlight. He remembered the night of her confession and it became clear to him why he'd become so fond of the moon. Hinata was certainly beautiful by day, but by night she was almost otherworldly. She caught his gaze lingering a bit too long and they both began to blush and look away.

"I'm going to go reflect on what you said there Uzumaki-sempai," Seiko saluted and slipped off to avoid getting in the way.

"Well, I better get down there," Naruto kind of shuffled around.

"Yeah, I'll see you in the morning," Hinata smiled and waved as he went down the stairs.

"Night," he smiled as her majestic beauty slipped out of sight.

"What's with you? You look out of it." Tenten asked as she passed Naruto as she was walking to her room.

"N-nothing," he walked away.

"I wonder what got into him," she shrugged her shoulders and walked away followed by Hinata not long after.

They talked a bit about the mission and some new kunai Tenten had picked up and then fell asleep at a decent hour. Neji and Naruto followed suit in their room following their bath.

There you have it. Those who have been patient during my absence I thank you for your continued support. I'm thinking of wrapping this story up before I finish my other fic. I actually have written quite a bit at the end, so I'm just weaving the ends back together now. As always, constructive criticism is welcome.


	28. Close Quarters

I hope you're enjoying this series. I'm glad I've been able to update more frequently lately. This is a jumbo chapter due to a ShikaTem thing growing a bit out of hand. I'm not sure it's my best work, but I hope you'll enjoy. As always, constructive criticism is welcome. Since underscore lines don't seem to work anymore I've started to use "Story Break" instead to break up things. I've already got a start on 29 and 30 is pretty much done, though a tweak or expansion might happen with some smaller things.

The morning sun had just barely scraped the horizon as the shinobi rose from their beds, except for Naruto who was deep in dreamland and seemed to be enjoying himself. Neji had tried to wake him, but to no avail. Seeing no recourse, he decided to let him sleep a bit longer in hopes that he would wake up on his own.

"Where's Naruto?" Tenten asked finishing a bit of toast.

"Still asleep. He wouldn't wake up, so I left him there. If he doesn't get up soon he's in for a rude awakening," he said starting to prepare his own breakfast.

"Naruto's still not up?" Hinata walked in from the hallway dressed and ready save for her equipment.

"Maybe the Princess should go wake up Prince Charming," Tenten teased.

"I'm sure he'll be down any second," Hinata started, but no sooner had she opened her mouth then a sleepy Naruto stretched and yawned as he walked in the room.

"Morning," he made his way over to the toaster and popped a couple of pieces of bread in.

"Did you sleep well?," Hinata said as she started working beside him on her own breakfast.

"Yeah, I had some strange dreams though," he rubbed the back of his head.

"Strange?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it. It was nothing, really." he became a little embarrassed. Hinata just smiled and continued along. She had a general idea it involved her and he didn't seem unhappy about it, so she left it at that.

"How'd you sleep?," he asked back.

"I slept well, thank you," she smiled and they got their breakfasts to the table.

After eating, they all headed out to their prescribed positions, having to wait a little for Naruto to get ready, which he wasted no time with.

Story Break

"There, that'll do it," Sakura finished rewrapping Sasuke's bandages.

"Finally," he complained and was quickly rebutted by Sakura poking him in the back of the head.

"I swear you two could be blood related sometimes," she put away the tray with the medical equipment.

"Who?"

"You and Naruto, you both whine about something or other when I treat you," she pulled a chair up to the side of the bed.

"Stop comparing me to him," he rubbed the back of his head and then adjusted the pillow so he could continue sitting up comfortably.

"Yeah, at least he's going places other than jail for the rest of his days," she chided him.

"Do you really think that's where I'll go?" he asked lowering his head a bit as if he were looking at his hands which were bound in special shackles to prevent any ninja techniques from being used.

"Well yeah if you keep this up. We might be able to swing something if you'd only stop with all this vengeance stuff. The kages aren't happy, but Naruto might be able to convince them to let you out on a short leash until you've proven you're worth trusting," she said in an almost haughty voice.

"I see," he seemed to be really serious.

"What's with this sudden change of heart?," she asked, a bit surprised by his seriousness.

"I just realized my priorities should be different. The main villains of my clan's destruction and my brother's disgrace are dead, save for the village elders. Though I would like to strangle the very life from their bodies for what they did, I know they aren't too long for this world and that killing an old man and woman wouldn't be worth it when compared to my new priority," he smiled slyly.

"What is this new priority?" she questioned him suspiciously.

"My greatest revenge will be the restoration of the Uchiha. I may not be happy with this village, but if I rot in prison, the Sharingan dies with me and I won't allow that to happen. I'll slowly change this village with my children. I'll teach them to be strong, but know that vengeance is a dish best served slow cooked and appetizing," he said with a little mischievous pride.

"What do you mean 'slow cooked and appetizing'?" she grew more concerned.

"My children will be trained well and through that training they will become strong and recognized. This in turn will lead to them gaining higher positions. There's no way I'd be honored with those sort of positions, but if I had children, they might be able to be accepted and with them I can influence the village and prevent something like what happened to my clan from ever happening again. I say appetizing, because this village would love to have Sharingan users at their disposal. I say slow cooked because it will take quite some time for my plans to come to fruition." he completed his explanation.

"I see, but I'm not just going to roll over and believe you," she crossed her arms.

"I mean every word of it," he said, leaning on tented fingers.

"Then why would you tell me all this?" she asked.

"Because, I need a partner to carry this out," he looked seriously in the direction her voice was coming from.

"That's a bit presumptuous," she scoffed at him.

"Just give me a chance to prove myself, that's all I ask."

"You've got to crawl before you walk. I'll talk to Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade about what you said today and they might consider letting you do some work after you've recovered. I'm not ruling out being partner to your plan, but you'll have to prove yourself to me that you can be a good shinobi and potentially a good father," she said as she got up from her seat and walked over to the door.

"That's all I ask," he said a bit humbly.

Story Break

A few days later.

"Shouldn't we use the map," the younger brother said, adjusting the scroll.

"We can't use the map until we can find a landmark. We're heading in the right general direction now, but sue to someone's lack of compass skills we need a landmark to go off of so that we can get back on the route," the eldest said with a biting tone.

"Look over there!" Jirou excitedly pointed to a river just coming into view.

"Perfect, we should be able to find a town along this river and identify where we are," Ichirou sprinted with renewed vigor, much to his brothers' chagrin.

Story Break

"Naruto-kun, you've got the targets coming your way along the river," the radio buzzed with Hinata's voice. All of the team moved to close in on the targets.

"Got it," he communicated back.

"This is the Suna team, could you relay the coordinates?"

Naruto relayed the location to the Sand ninjas and all was set into motion.

Story Break

Atsuko was tending her herbs when Seiko approached.

"Hey Atsuko," he said as he came closer.

"Hmm?" she turned around standing up to greet him, the water pitcher still in her hand.

"Did you want some of these dango that sensei made?" he offered her a stick with five on it.

"Sure," she took off her gloves and accepted.

"What are you working on?" he said and then pulled a dumpling off his stick with his mouth.

"Not much, just tending to the garden, pulling weeds and doing some watering," she nibbled one of the dumplings absent-mindedly.

"Seems like an awful lot of work goes into that, but I guess you really like gardening," he looked over the vast lot of plants before him and sat down on a nearby log which she joined him in.

"Yeah, it is a lot of work, but when you get to see the fruits of your labor its just that much more rewarding," she smiled.

"MMhm, I know what you're talking about. I had this really hard time with the clone jutsu back in the academy and I worked really hard and when I finally got it to work right it was awesome," he said as he finished a bite of dumpling.

"Seikou," she looked up into the sky after a moment of silence between them and tapped her feet on the log.

"Yeah?" he turned to face her.

"Is there anyone you like?"

"Where did that come from all of a sudden?" his eyes grew as big as saucers.

"There's something I want…that I need to tell you," she fidgeted a little.

"What is it?" he started to grasp the situation.

"I like you," she looked him right in the eyes.

"Err…um… okay," he stammered.

"Huh?" she got a confused look on her face.

"What I meant to say was that I don't really know how I feel about you. I just didn't think of you in that way before. It's not like I'm against it though," he finished nervously, waving his hands in front of him.

"That's okay. That's exactly what dating is for, to get to know someone and see if you're compatible. I just wanted to know if you liked me enough to give me a chance," she smiled and victoriously imitated Seiko's pulling the dango off the stick with his teeth.

"What are you two doing out here all alone?" Haruko teased, unknowing of what had just transpired.

"Nothing much, just talking," he started nervously. "What are you doing out here?" he questioned her.

"Well, you forgot to bring Atsuko some tea. Someone is working hard and you bring them something to eat and nothing to drink and they're bound to get even more thirsty." she pulled out a couple of cups and a thermos of green tea. She poured the two of them a cup and got back up.

"You're leaving already?" Atsuko asked.

"We can't all take a break all the time. Besides, the old man is minding the radio, so if I don't come back soon he'll probably be annoyed and give me that same old speech again," she puffed up to imitate him.

"Work hard," Seiko joked with her a little.

"Don't hang around too long, or he'll give you a speech too," she warned as she walked away.

"\I finished everything I was told to do already, so maybe I'll help Atsuko with the garden or something."

"Well, do your best you two," she walked away.

"We will," she called back.

Story Break

"We're all here," the radio buzzed in.

"Understood, Tenten can you give me a distraction? I have an idea to make these guys sitting ducks," Naruto quickly phoned in.

"Alright," she clicked back in as quietly as possible. A volley of kunai and shuriken bombarded the four, who quickly dodged backward into four Naruto shadow clones who each dumped a real vial of the adhesive, stopping them dead in their tracks.

As the short lived confusion set in with the three youngest, the fourth cast off his shoes that were now plastered to the ground. The younger struggled to start removing their shoes, but to no avail as the Hyuugas were quickly on them.

"Eight trigrams thirty two palms," Hinata and Neji yelled in near unison. Sixty four palms would have been more effective, but with other enemies in the area a quick disabling blow was all that was needed. The third managed to get out of his stuck shoes and move a few steps before he found himself on the receiving end of an elbow to the face from Tenten that caught him completely off guard.

The three subdued, Naruto rushed off to capture the eldest who had taken off with the scroll and was far more experienced and savvy than his brothers.

Naruto strained after him.

"Man this guy is fast," he thought as he chased after him. Before he knew it though, a wall of sand flew out in front of them and stopped Ichirou dead in his tracks.

"So even the Kazekage has come to play," he grinned and threw himself into a strange jutsu. His body grew twice as large as usual and his chakra output was twice normal. His mannerisms became almost animalistic.

"You know cornering a wild animal is a bad idea.," he scoffed at the two. "Orochimaru-sama gave each of my brothers an incarnation of a beast within us to mark the four symbol animals. I am the fiercest, the White Tiger of the West," at that time his arms grew white fur.

"Good to see you again Gaara," Naruto called out to him.

"Nice to see you too. How's Temari?" he showed himself.

"She's getting a big tummy. She looks like she swallowed a melon whole, but she looked as happy and healthy as ever," he responded.

"That is good," he smiled.

"I'm glad you are having a pleasant chat. I'd love to stick around and share a cup of tea, but I have other things to do," he took a thunderous step to leap towards the gap between Naruto and Gaara, but quickly found himself at the bottom of a deep pit, much to his surprise.

"I was just gonna punch the guy, but that works too I guess," Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

Ichirou was definitely not pleased and made his thoughts quite well heard. The rest of the teams followed in on the area, though the fight was well over.

"Where is he?" Tenten asked, not seeing the fourth fighter.

"Down there," Naruto pointed downward into the hole.

Gaara slowly drew the tiger up with his sand in order to bring him into custody.

"You should know that the White Tiger symbolizes righteousness and peace. What you have done is the exact opposite," he looked him right in the eye as a couple of Jounin sealed the tiger's movements and placed cuffs on him.

"If you don't mind we'd like to take a couple of these back to the Leaf for interrogation Kazekage," Neji asked as Gaara's sand returned to it's home upon his back.

" I only brought enough men to carry the scroll and two of them, so you may take the younger two with you back for interrogation. I know the Sound is of great interest to you."

"Thank you," Neji said in reply, "I'm sure that they will be very helpful."

"Until we meet again my friend," Gaara waved and the Sand ninja dispersed with the two elder bound up ninja.

"See ya!," Naruto waved back.

"Alright, let's get these guys back home," Neji picked one up and Naruto the other as they headed off into the forest, returning home from their mission.

Story Break

"Ahh," Temari sighed as she slipped into the bathtub full of warm water.

"Anything I can get you?" Shikamaru asked through the door.

"Just check on me in a bit so I don't fall asleep in here." she called to him.

"Alright," his footsteps clipped away down the hall.

"You sure are a hand full," she talked into the water at her child, "but I guess it can't be helped. You are my daughter after all. You know what, I think I'll tell you how your father and I got together. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I'm going to tell you anyway while I have a captive audience."

Temari smirked and gently stroked her swollen belly.

"I guess it all started a long time ago, when I was just a genin. I first met your father in the chuunin exams. I'll tell you that story too sometime. He was a lazy good-for nothing, but he was a clever little snot too. We met off and on here and there on several occasions over the years. We just always ended up working together. I don't want to call it fate, but it was strange that it always seemed to fall that way. Anyway, one day we were sent to meet and exchange highly classified information. It should have been a brief meeting…"

Flashback

"So we meet again," Shikamaru saw Temari through the dense morning fog.

"Let's just get this over with," she produced a small scroll and handed it over to Shikamaru.

"We represent allied countries, we should be a bit more friendly don't ya think?" he laughed and handed her the scroll from the Leaf.

"In your dreams," she laughed back and started to walk away when a kunai flew at her from the direction back to the Leaf. The Nara clansman managed to block it and Temari quickly did the same for him.

"Looks like we aren't alone," he said as they backed up back to back.

"What gave you that idea?" she remarked sarcastically.

"Forget it. At any rate, we need to get a away from here. Why don't you clear a corridor for us with your fan and I'll watch your back. As soon as it opens we'll breach and draw them behind us. If we go back the way we came there should be a nice spot for me to open up with my technique and you to finish them. They seem to want to attack only from range given how much time they've given us. They're either all long range or they're too weak to fight us on an even keel."

"Works for me. I was thinking along the same lines myself," she gripped her fan. Shikamaru launched a smoke bomb and Temari used a massive gust of wind to stun any opponents hiding in the trees ahead. The two ran together as fast as the wind and hid out in a small cave under a rock with an opening just small enough for them to enter, but with an interior just barely large enough for the two to move around somewhat.

"Wait, this is a bunker from the Second Shinobi War," she whispered.

"Shh, the rest of the squad is coming with tracker dogs," he smirked as the rays of the sun finally started to rise and create long shadows. The squad looking for them started to reform right in front of them following the tracker dogs. Temari instantly knew what Shikamaru was thinking, smirked and nodded. The dogs grew closer and closer to the trench.

"HAAAAA," Temari yelled and popped out of the hole, stunning the group and blowing away the fog. The group recovered quickly and were not impressed with the strike.

"That was unimpressive sweetie," the apparent leader of the group laughed at her.

"Well, it's just my friend here likes capturing people for interrogation," she smirked and the captain soon realized that he was caught in the shadow bind technique.

"Could you hurry it up?," he poked her ankle.

"Fine," she went through and knocked out the squad members and tied them up one by one, relieving Shikamaru of the strain.

"Yeah, but what do we do now? We've got all these guys to take home for interrogation." he slumped on his hand sitting cross-legged.

"Don't worry, I'll have my summon help deliver my brother a message. It's home is just outside of town, so if I send it back with a message, my brother will certainly send us some help," she placed her fan on the ground and set it up for the summon with a streak of blood.

"Summoning!," she yelled and Kamatari emerged ready to cut down some enemies. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but will you please relay this message to my brother. It is incredibly important and only you can help us," the weasel looked a little disappointed, but gripped the paper she offered it and disappeared.

"That's pretty convenient," he laughed.

"You should get your own summon," she suggested. "They can be quite helpful at times," she sat down next to him.

"If I tried to find the one I'm most compatible with, I'd probably end up halfway around the world or something with my luck," he looked up from his spot on the grass.

"You're always too stuck on how troublesome things are. You'll probably end up alone with that attitude," she sat down next to him.

"Nah, it'd be more troublesome to be alone, even if she was as troublesome as you."

"Oh, I'll show you trouble" she tugged him by his ear.

"Ow," he rubbed his ear.

"Well, at any rate, we've got to find something to pass the time," she placed her fan on the ground beside her.

"How about shogi," he suggested.

It's not like either of us has a set with us," she said dismissively.

"We could make a set out of the items lying around," he pointed out.

"That seems like a lot of work for shogi," she rested her arms on her knees and placed her head on top of her knees.

"Look who's being lazy now," he teased her. "You've got any better ideas?" he looked over at her.

"I guess not," she started to stand, but felt something drip onto her head. The light that had slowly faded behind them had shown it's cause in a rainstorm that started to drip overhead.

"Let's get in the bunker, it'll at least give us some protection from the rain," he covered his head and pointed at the bunker.

"What'll we do with the prisoners? We can't just leave them out here and that bunker won't hold all of us." the downpour started to escalate.

"You've got a slicker with you?" he said pulling his out and holding up a long fallen tree branch..

"Yeah, I think I see where you're going with this," she found a few long fallen branches and the two hastily fashioned a tent over the bound ninja before rushing inside the bunker.

"Phew, this was a lucky find," she commented shaking off the rain and the cold.

"Yeah, I'm glad I noticed it earlier," he knocked the water and debris off of his tactical vest.

"You have any emergency candles?" she asked.

"Yeah," he produced a couple from his pouch.

"Good, we need to get dry before we both catch cold," she lit one up at which the earthen walls lit up and the room warmed somewhat.

"Yeah," Shikamaru pulled down his hair tie to let his hair drip and then put his hands to the small flame.

"Pff," Temari almost burst into laughing at Shikamaru's draping hair.

"What?" he wondered what was so funny.

"Oh, I'm just not used to seeing you with your hair down like that. It's a good thing you don't leave it down too often," she stifled laughter.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically as he took to rubbing his hands in front of the flame.

"Hey, mine's no picnic either," she let it down and it fell into four oddly stiff locks despite the rain.

"Pbbt," he couldn't help himself either.

"See, you've got no room to talk," she lightly jabbed at him. The two had a little laugh.

"Hope you didn't have a hot date waiting for you back at home," she warmed herself by the fire.

"Nah, don't have anyone in particular right now," he took off his vest and used it as a cushion, so that he could relax and get some heat to the soaked shirt underneath.

"It's strange how often you get sent on missions involving me," she remarked.

"It is strange, but then again I'm the only one you seem to get along with," he said half jokingly.

"That isn't true," she snapped back.

"Oh yeah? Remember that time when you teamed up with Chouji?" he pointed out.

"That's not fair and you know it," she pointed at him aggressively.

"I know, I know it was a huge misunderstanding, but he wouldn't hear any of it for a week afterward." he smirked.

"Oh well, I don't mind missions with you. At least the conversation is lively," she stirred around a rock on the ground.

"It's not so bad working with you either. You're one of the few I can enjoy a challenge with at shogi, even if you are a bit troublesome at times," he found his head pelted with a small rock.

They both looked up at about the same time and locked eyes for a moment. A flicker of something shot through the air, but they quickly dispelled it by looking away.

"It's really coming down out there," she looked out the window trying to get her mind off of what just happened.

"Yeah, but that's spring for you, always unpredictable," he adjusted the candle wicks with the set of tweezers included in the kit.

"Achoo," Temari sniffled.

"You better get out of those clothes or you'll catch cold," he commented.

"I'm not stripping in front of you," she scoffed and blushed a tiny bit.

"I didn't expect you to. Just take off the over cloth and warm it up and then switch it out for the underclothes until you get them both dry, Personally, I'm soaked to the bone and I'm going to take off this shirt so I can warm up over the candle and get my skin dry," he removed his shirt and made a make shift clothesline with some wire and a couple of kunai. He draped it over the wire and the candle and rubbed his hands together to get warm. She sighed.

"When in Rome I suppose, but you'll have to wear this over your eyes or I'm not losing a single scrap of cloth," she offered him her headband.

"Fine," he bowed his head a bit and wore it over his eyes.

She undressed a bit and slung the clothes over the line. Shikamaru decided to use the darkness and "meditate", but for obvious reasons his mind was elsewhere. Temari's was no less scattered. The calm cool and collected individuals they were wouldn't allow for any of it to leak through to the other. Maybe it was the rain, maybe it was the cramped corners, but something was going on there that neither was ready to admit.

The rain started to drip in on Shikamaru who moved to the other side near Temari to avoid the rain.

"What are you doing?" she yelled at him as he made his way over, very aware of her own state of dress.

"Getting out of the rain," he pulled alongside her and sat back down.

"Fine, just keep your hands to yourself," she said, annoyed

"Will do," he saluted and tried his best not to notice her presence. They both sat there in silence for quite some time, the strange heat building up between them.

CRACK! A nearby tree split with lightning. Both jumped at the sound and Temari found herself right up close to him. The heat built and built in their hearts until neither could stand it anymore.

End Flashback

"Well, that's quite enough of that. You're nowhere near old enough to hear the rest of that story, and you probably wouldn't want to anyway. Sufficed to say, Kankuro was not pleased when he found us in the morning," she laughed and stroked her belly once again.

Outside, Shikamaru smiled and leaned against the wall, remembering that night and how it changed his life.

Story Break

A few days later, the group arrived back at the station with the youngest two ninja in tow, looking exhausted and in need of a good rest and a shower. They landed at the door and were greeted by Atsuko and Seikou who ran out to greet them..

"Welcome back!" Seikou and Atsuko called out, their faces plastered with smiles.

"Looks like you've got the catch of the day there," the elder man commented, leaning on the open door frame.

"Yes, we brought home some souvenirs for Morino-san," Tenten replied.

"Well, I'm glad you got back safely. I'll have Haruko bring the village up on the line. Atsuko and Seikou, why don't you help them in with their things. I'm sure they could use a chance to get a little rest before they head off to the village."

"We'd love to stay, but I'm sure you know that we can't stay long. The information these two might have could save lives," Neji said.

"Well, you're going to have to stay long enough to report in, so why don't you restock on what you need and maybe get a warm bath while you're here."

"I think we'll take you up on that restocking offer, but however much we'd like to, we need to get these two to interrogation, so I don't think we'll be able to stay long enough to get something as nice as a bath," Temari followed on. Naruto and Hinata had remained silent up until this point, taking a knee and putting down the Sound ninja they had been carrying for a while.

"That's fine. I'll help you with the supplies," he said guiding them in.

"I'll take the call. Why don't you two rest. Your shift is still only halfway done," Neji commented at the two sitting next to the tree.

"I'll go and take care of supplies," Tenten added.

"Thanks," Naruto waved a half hearted salute.

"Thank you," Hinata called out and wiped her brow a bit.

"You doing alright?" Naruto turned and asked Hinata.

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you," she smiled and they both leaned back on the tree, their shoulders touching. They looked at each other and smiled before Hinata leaned her head on his shoulder. At first, Naruto was a bit surprised, but welcomed it all the same. Her heart beat just a little fast, but soon she relaxed and enjoyed the moment too.

Meanwhile, inside, Neji made the call, "Yes, the mission was a complete success and we've managed to capture two Sound ninja for intelligence."

"I see, well done. I'll contact Morino and have him send someone to meet you 1 mile outside of the main gate. I expect a full report on your arrival," Tsunade responded.

"Yes, Hokage. Also, you should know that Plan A is prepared," he whispered into the receiver.

"Understood, I'll inform him. Is there anything else to report?"

"No Hokage," he answered.

"Then I hope for your safe return with the fruits of your labor."

"Goodbye Hokage"

"Goodbye," she answered and the two hung up.

Neji got up from the seat and turned to see a peeking Tenten smiling.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Look for yourself," she pointed at the two lovebirds sitting under the tree. Neji, Atsuko and Seikou performed a Scooby stack and all peered out at the relaxing two with their knocked out parcels laying beside them.

"They look so peaceful," Atsuko smiled.

"Well, I hate to bother them, but we need to leave, so I suppose I'll have to break them up for the moment," Neji whispered.

"Don't worry about it. We have something to tell Hinata-dono, so we'll disturb them," Atsuko smiled and tugged on Seikou's hand and they ran off towards the relaxed two next to the tree,

"Excuse me," Atsuko said in a careful tone to get their attention. Hinata opened her eyes. She wasn't sleeping, but she was resting pretty comfortably.

"I just wanted to tell you," she lifted Seikou's hand in hers.

"I see, congratulations," she sleepily responded with a gentle, almost motherly, smile.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"I'll tell you later," she saw the rest of the group approaching and the two of them stood up and dusted themselves off.

"You're ready to go. We refilled your supplies for the trip back," Atsuko and Seikou handed them their bags.

"Thanks," the two responded simultaneously and took them up.

"Alright, let's go home!" Naruto cheered and led them off with the ninja on his back and waved to the people of Outpost Four as they went on to Outpost Eight.


	29. Skirmish

"Sorry I'm late. I had to help an old lady cross the street," the Leaf's Copy Ninja waved as he entered.

"You used that line last time," Sakura said, a little annoyed.

"I did? Well, it doesn't make it any less true does it?" he responded as he leaned against the wall.

"Anyway…" Sakura started and rolled her eyes, " what do you think should be done about him?"

"Well if he's genuinely turned, that would be a benefit to the leafs military strength and future, but the question is if he's just doing this to get a little slack on his leash," he stroked his chin.

"The kages aren't pleased, but they are of less concern for the moment. His true motives are where this decision lies. Kakashi, I'd like you to look into his eyes when his bandages are removed today and see whether we can trust his words or not. If we can, I want to start planning for talks with the other villages." Tsunade said, arranging some papers on her desk.

"Hai hai," he got up.

"'I'll work out the details, but I hope we can rely on him in the future as an asset not a liability."

Story Break

"I guess plan B will have to do," Karin said as she studied the scroll carefully.

"Don't give me that nonsense. Those four were some of my best men," he punched the stone wall next to her head.

"Don't lose your temper. This plan will work as well. I would have much preferred we use the formula for the Suna version, but the Sound version should whittle down their defenses enough for us to retrieve him.

"It better work," he complained, "or else I'll have your head, Miss."

"Rest easy, you will have a Sharingan user at your side soon enough," she remained completely calm and eventually the Otokage blinked at the stare down.

"Get the chakra storage scrolls ready. We leave immediately while that blonde headed brat is outta town.". he barked and the ninjas assembled made their preparations to move towards Konoha.

"Keep that radio skimmer with you. I don't want any surprises," he ordered Karin.

Story Break

The four labored on into the night, pushing themselves to get back home with the precious cargo. They ate soldier pills and only stopped to get some water and keep the ninja sedated while they moved. Their visit and check in at Outpost Eight for water went without incident.

Story break

" Nice to see you again sensei," Sasuke smirked.

"It's nice to have all you kids back together again, don't you think?" he laughed and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Alright, well it's time for them to come off Sasuke. When I remove them, you'll need to blink as much as you can. Your eyes will be very sensitive to light as you are now," she closed off what little light was in the room and replaced it with a faint candle.

"Alright," he said and bowed his head slightly. Her dexterous hands unfastened the ties on the back of his head as the white cloth dribbled down to his lap.

"I'm going to remove the eye covering pads, so be ready," she removed them and placed them aside. Sasuke's eyes met the world for the first time in a great while in little stops and starts, but eventually they opened all the way.

"Would you look at that," Kakashi said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh my," Sakura looked at his face illuminated by the flickering candle as he raised his head. Two orbs were fixed upon her, the right, black as a raven's feathers, and the other with three tamoe.

"What is it?' he asked, though he soon remembered the familiar tug of his own Sharingan.

"First, can you see with both of your eyes," Sakura asked, inspecting her work.

"Yes, I can see perfectly well, though I can tell my Sharingan won't deactivate in my right eye now."

"I'm sorry, that's a complication I was worried about. Does it cause you any difficulties?" she checked his eye movement.

"No, my own bloodline won't cause me any problems. I'm only curious if my left will also activate when I ask it to," his eyes followed the marker she was using to test his field of vision.

"I'd lay off of it for a while, but your right makes me more confident that it will work, but I can't guarantee it,"

"I understand. I'll give it a while before I try anything with it," he relaxed his shoulders.

Now that you do have your sight back, there's something I need to ask you," Kakashi pulled back the forehead protector to reveal his eye. "Do you intend to serve the leaf loyally and without any reservation?"

"Yes," he looked him right in the eye unflinchingly.

"Do you really care about Sakura or are you merely trying to use her for your own agenda?" he asked to Sasuke's surprise. The break was short, but the Uchiha was caught off guard and for an instant his defenses fell. So small was this twitch Sakura barely saw it and wasn't sure it actually happened.

"You don't have to say anything, I understand. I'll make a full report to the Hokage," he waved goodbye to the two, but before he could leave the room a strange sound floated in through the newly opened door to which the three quickly dispelled the sleepiness that fell over them.

"Looks like we're under attack by some sort of genjutsu," Kakashi said, still shaking off the effects of the technique. The hallway was lined with unconscious shinobi that were caught off guard by the Sound's attack.

"Are they?" Sakura asked, concerned.

"No, they've only knocked them out," he checked the breathing and pulse of one of them in the hall. "This is likely an invasion attempt. I don't know how many of the other ninja are awake and there's no doubt they'll breach the gate with such a skeleton force still alert, so I'll need as much help as I can get fending them off and waking the others. Sasuke, here's your chance to prove your loyalty."

Sasuke merely nodded and extended his hands, to which Sakura unlocked them. He grabbed a kunai pouch off of an unconscious shinobi nearby and threw on some clothes from a nearby clean laundry pile.

"Let's go," Kakashi motioned for them to follow him and they set out into the village.

Story Break

:Naruto yawns and takes a knee with the load on his back.

"Weren't we supposed to meet him here?" Naruto asked.

"This does seem like the place," Tenten looked around.

A faint noise filtered through the trees.

"A genjustu? This one must be enormous!" Hinata commented as she peered at the sound artillery rolled out outside the gate.

"Looks like a new large scale knockout genjutsu," Neji looked over the resting bodies inside the walls.

"I've got an idea on how to get rid of the things that are making the noise, but I'll need as many explosive tags as I can get my hands on," Naruto suggested.

"Have you lost it? We should make contact with the others before we try to attack them," Neji chided him.

"Hear me out. I'm going to use transformed clones in order to place explosive tags on the artillery. This works better alone," he countered.

"Fine, why don't you take care of that and we'll get the reinforcements," Neji folded his arms in disgust.

The others lent him some explosive tags, but as they turned to run away Naruto spoke up half-timidly, "Um, which way is it?" to which the team face faulted.

"That way," they all pointed.

"I'll go with you and help you find your way Naruto," Hinata grabbed his hand and they set off as the rest headed to get reinforcements where they could.

"Thanks Hinata," he caught up and ran along side her.

Naruto transformed into a generic looking Sound-nin and created clones. Hinata directed each of them at their target.

Before too long, the whole front was devastated and the clones disappeared leaving no trace of the assailant.

Just as the sound died down a unit of 20 or 30 jounin threw open the gate and stood in front of the confused Sound-nin. Hinata, who had been watching up until this point gasped a little at what she saw, Sasuke standing right next to Kakashi at the gate.

Story Break

"Looks like someone disabled the amplifiers," Kakashi noted to himself.

"What are your orders?" Sasuke asked.

"Let's attack the left flank, they seem to have taken the worst of it and we can't afford to get pinned in with such a small force, so we'll be careful until help arrives.," he said watching the Sound-nin scurry about, attempting to leave.

"Sasuke and Chouji, you're with me," he motioned for them. "The rest of you I'll leave with Shikaku and Gai to attack as you see fit and protect the gate from any surprise attack."

"Acknowledged," they seemed to say in unison.

"Gai-sensei, I thought Nara-san was the Jounin commander?" Lee whispered to Gai.

"It's best to just leave it alone. Kakashi is my rival after all and has a keen strategic mind. If he thought it would be better to do it another way, he would have pulled rank on him." Gai replied with a grin and thumbs up and Lee responded with an understanding tapping of his fist on his palm.

The team left as the central division tried to shift over to cover the left flank, but were met with a firewall from Sasuke. Chouji used the meat tank technique to trample a good portion of the ninjas who had decided to stand and fight. Some were too paralyzed from fear at the sight of Sasuke to move, while others were merely foolhardy. Of those remaining, not a single one could hold their kunai steady. The unit was in complete disarray and falling over themselves trying to flee. The central division was in full retreat as well as commanders tried to wrangle the force back into order.

The right flank attempted to move over to counter the attack and protect the lines as the central division was reorganized and brought back to the front, but were met Naruto appearing with Hinata on the back edge of the right unit. The enemy was beginning to think they were encircled, so they retreated back into the forest to concentrate their forces and break the line that didn't exist behind them. Lee and Gai followed in behind.

"Let's keep the Sound running Lee," the two ran off at the Nara's signal. The two met up with Kakashi's group and the troops continued to move back as the main force of Konoha reached the gate and prepared to move on them as well. The Sound began to scatter, but they were met with Naruto and Sasuke at their flank and ran straight ahead, some trampling other ninja in the hasty retreat.

Finally, the ninja emerged into the clearing that had been made into a makeshift headquarters for the assault.

"You fools," the Otokage snapped like a thunderclap and struck a crack in the earth the length of the clearing, stopping his troops in their tracks. The troops snapped out of their fear and began to turn and face the oncoming force with a resurrected Team 7 at it's point and Hinata by Naruto's side.

The enemy barely stood a chance. Their numbers were greater for a moment, but the quality of the Leaf ninja that were unaffected or awoken quickly far surpassed the rank and file of the Sound and each passing second, more Leaf ninja awoke and were poised to strike.

The kage was backed up against the river they had set camp against. In his desperation, he called out for Sasuke.

"So you've decided to become a dog of the Leaf once more? Come back to the Sound. You don't belong with them," he smirked.

"I am not a dog. I am a hawk and I will roost where I see fit. If a snake should happen by my nest, I will consume it and not leave a single scrap," he readied a chidori.

"So that's how it is, hmm?" he readied his mighty fists to strike, but was met with a blow to the back of the head from Sakura.

"You didn't have to do that," the blue light faded from his hand.

"Yes, but you're a part of Team 7 again, and I won't let you run off on your own," she cracked her knuckles.

"You little *****," the Otokage stumbled to his feet and rubbed his head, a little woozy. The rest of the Sound was too busy trying to stay alive to protect the kage.

A blow dart emerged from the shadows and was sliced in half by a quick chidori: sharp spear.

"I'm leaving this one to you Sasuke," Sakura jumped out after Karin and Sasuke refocused just in time to dodge a swing by the behemoth in front of him.

"I'm sorry, I just don't have the time to play with you anymore," Sasuke grabbed a nearby sword and sliced the Otokage in half with a lightning enhanced strike and headed off after Sakura.

He found a beaten and bruised Karin under an infuriated Sakura's heel. Sakura's aura could be felt from miles away.

"Good, you're here Sasuke," Karin said weakly, "Please help me," she reached out to him.

"No," he pierced the ground near her head and left the sword there.

"My eyes are clear now. I no longer seek the path I did before. Do not follow me. Leave this place and never bring yourself before me again," he spoke to her slowly in a cold tone with his back turned. Sasuke and Sakura began to leave, and Karin made one last dash at Sakura with the sword she struggled to pull from the ground, only to trip and lose the sword from her grip. His eyes pierced her with a glare as cold as ice and he turned back for the fight, which was quickly turning into a slaughter for the Sound. A few were lost on the Leaf side, but many many more had fallen for the Sound.

Story Break

Hinata and Naruto had been fighting back to back for a while now. The sweat flew from their foreheads as their close quarters combat work almost seemed a dance. Those who were there that day often tell of the two acting as one in a monstrous display of coordination and power that drove back whole platoons with a single fluid movement.

Neji and Tenten relieved them from time to time to rest, and the enemy would hold their ground or only fall back slightly as they covered the retreat, but as soon as they rejoined the battle, they ran for their lives.

Finally, the forces, divided and leaderless, shattered and scattered, to which Tsunade ordered a cease of pursuit. The remaining Soiund were so decimated that it would take generations before they could muster the strength to even be considered a minor village again.

Story Break

A day or so later.

"You wished to see us Father?" Hinata knocked on the door and Naruto tried his best to be cordial by following her lead.

"Yes, come in. I'd like to have a word with you two," he said in a manner that portended no ill will. The two slid the door back and entered. They found a seat in front of him and waited nervously for him to continue. Neji took a place in the back of the room behind Hiashi. The Hyuuga leader scribbled a couple of small notes and placed the paper aside.

"I have called you two before me to talk to you about your recent mission and what occurred during it," he tented his fingers and laid them on the desk in front of him.

"Nothing inappropriate happened, I swear," Naruto defended himself.

"Yes, I know. Neji has informed me well on that point, but that is not what I'm here to talk to you about," a small smirk slipped across his face.

"What do you mean?' Hinata asked.

"You've failed our little agreement. You used that adhesive on the Sound ninjas. in what I would deem a practical joke," he stated quite calmly.

"That's bull and you know it," Naruto raised his voice. "That stuff was a ninja tool before I even got a hold of it," Naruto's fury was pretty evident.

"The fact remains that you broke the rules. Are you ready to face the consequences?" he said in reply, Hinata's face turned ghastly pale.

"Please forgive me this once Hinata for breaking my ninja way," Naruto said almost silently, but loud enough that Hiashi and Hinata could make it out. "I won't let her go! I love your daughter and I'm not going to give her up over some bs technicality that you came up with. I wanted to do this the right way for her sake, but you've given me no other choice, so if we have to I'll run away with her," Hinata was a bit shocked by the sudden outburst.

"Is that so? Have you consulted with Hinata first?" he asked smugly.

"I'll run away with him! I love him and I will be together with him whether you approve of it or not!," Hinata stood up beside Naruto, half shaking.

"So you'll give up being the Hyuuga clan head for the sake of this man?" he peered at her.

"Yes!" she said without hesitation.

Hiashi's grin loomed even larger.

"Good," he smiled.

"What?" they both said in unison.

"Whoever said I'd separate you?" he laughed.

"What? But you…Huh?" Naruto started and stopped as the confusion was evident across both of their faces..

"I chose my words very carefully that day. I said 'you will respect my wishes regarding the two of you.' I never said I would forbid you from seeing one another. I wanted to see what kind of man you were for myself and whether you truly cared about my daughter. If you had backed down, I might have questioned your love for my daughter and your ability to stand up for yourself. You have passed my test, and so I will offer you a way to keep both your ninja way and still see my daughter."

"What is it?" Naruto asked, sitting down and becoming calmer.

"You will be betrothed to each other," he said with a smile. Hinata was immediately shocked at what her father had said. Naruto seemed not to know what was going on.

"What does that mean?" he whispered to Hinata.

"It means we're going to be married one day," she whispered to him. Naruto's eyes became as big as saucers and his face a little pink.

"Are you okay with someone like me being your husband?" Naruto asked a little nervously.

"Of course!," she hugged him "Are you alright with me?" she was a little nervous as well.

"Of course," he wrapped his arms around her.

"Then there is only the formality of the paperwork," he motioned for Neji, who quickly brought him the document. "Please show our honored guest in as well," he commanded Neji. A moment later Tsunade entered with Sakura following close behind.

"Seems everything went as expected," she looked down at the seated couple and the document on the table, crossing her arms and wearing a smile of satisfaction upon her face.

"Yes, thank you for coming."

"My pleasure," she waved her hand slightly.

"Granny?" Naruto wondered what was going on.

"As you are both of age, I will need both of you to sign it first," he offered the two pens and they quickly signed it.

"To make this a binding document, it requires that elder relatives of both families give their consent. I will represent Naruto in this matter," Tsunade extended her hand and Sakura placed her seal in it. Tsunade bent and marked the seal upon the paper. Hiashi followed in turn.

"You two are now bound to one another. I expect that you shall not disappoint."

"Yes, sir," Naruto was respectful for once.

"Congratulations." Sakura patted them both on the back, "I'll file this right away." Sakura took the document and placed it in an envelope to protect it from damage. Naruto and Hinata looked at each other with warmth in their hearts. As their hands slid together, their hearts beat a mile a minute.


	30. Two Become One

Disclaimer: I chose in writing this neither a Western, nor a Japanese wedding ceremony. I don't know enough to properly describe a Japanese wedding, though if someone could explain it to me better I'd be grateful. I didn't do a full Western one, though you may recognize some elements that have been rearranged, because it didn't really fit the feel of the series. What is here is a made up one that I think fit's the feel of the series. If you have a question why I did something leave a comment or contact me and I'll explain as best I can. I hope you enjoy this double update.

The spring wind tousled the cherry blossom trees as the garden of the Hyuuga estate seemed to match it's attire to the event that spread out before it. Bamboo flooring polished to a shine forms a T in this courtyard that is beset by white walls on all sides save the one at the top of the T. Where the horizontal meets the vertical an altar sits, the final preparations under way under a white arbor draped in a veil of purple flowering vines. On each side of the vertical are lain white sheets topped with seats for the guests to the ceremony with seats along and on the horizontal polished bamboo for parents near the altar.

In the building to the west, Naruto and Shikamaru prepare for the ceremony in a second floor room overlooking the courtyard. The dress is traditional men's kimono over hakama. Naruto's is a dark orange with the whirlpool symbol in black on his back. Shikamaru's is a dark green with his clan's symbol also represented.

"Jeez, calm down," Shikamaru rubbed his head as he reviews a piece of folded paper with some text on it

"I'm not nervous," Naruto rocked back and forth in his chair leaning back on the back two legs with his hand behind his head, mussing with the hair that would ordinarily be displaced by his headband's strings.

"Don't give me that," he sighed. "You haven't eaten anything this morning. I've never known you to miss a meal," he folded up the paper and stuffed it into his kimono.

"It's that obvious?" Naruto relented with a sigh.

"It's normal. If you weren't a little worried, I would be." Shikamaru tightened up his ponytail.

"I guess I just don't want to mess this up, Hinata has really been looking forward to this," he looked up at the ceiling dreamily.

"You'll be fine," Shikamaru got up from the couch and tapped him on his shoulder. " It isn't half as scary as you think."

"Thanks," his familiar grin returned.

"Come on, straighten up and let's get going. You don't want to leave Hinata waiting," he laughed as they both headed for the door.

In a room on the second floor of the eastern building, Hinata and Sakura prepare for the wedding. Sakura's kimono is a dark red with the white circle of her clan placed where her shoulder blade's meet matching all of the others in the party. Her hair is put up in the back with a red clip and pins with emerald green spheres sticking out. The Hyuuga symbol rests on the back of a nervous wreck named Hinata. Her white dress is immaculate and her face, though trembling a little, is beautifully made up. Just hints are used to accentuate her youthful skin. Her hair is also tied up, but with wide, flat lavender clips that match the obi she's wearing.

"Relax, you'll be fine. This is your special day, so enjoy it," Sakura patted her on the back gently.

"I know. I'm just so happy and nervous at the same time. I just don't want to make a mistake or have something go wrong,." she wrung her hands.

"We triple checked the list. Nothing will go wrong."

"I hope so," she dried her hands on a nearby cloth.

" Just think about something that excites you about getting married," Sakura pointed Hinata at a nearby full length mirror. Hinata began to smile a little.

"Ho ho, thinking about your wedding night are you?" Sakura smirked. "It's good to have a healthy appetite for that sort of thing with the man you're going to marry."

"I wasn't thinking at all about that!" she shouted at Sakura. "It isn't like I haven't thought about it at all though…" her cheeks turned beet red and she trailed off.

"Okay okay, I was just trying to get a rise out of you, so lighten up a bit," she giggled a little and Hinata exhaled a relaxing sigh.

"You'll be fine, just relax. Today is about you and Naruto. This is the first day of the rest of your lives together. I know you'll be happy. Even if something does go amiss, it isn't about all the flowery things. It's about you and Naruto being together forever."

"Thanks, Sakura," she smiled and perked up.

"I expect you to pay me back one day when I get married and I turn into a wreck," Sakura ran her hand through the hair on the side of her head, straightening it slightly.

"Sure," she laughed.

"Well, now that you're in a good mood and ready, let's head down to the staging area."

"Mhmm," Hinata gracefully turned towards the door, her heart still beating like a drum, but her mind at peace.

Iruka fidgeted with his kimono and hair a little in the west building's staging area..

"Sheesh, calm down," Kakashi groaned and rubbed the back of his head as he walked up behind Iruka.

"Weren't you supposed to be here an hour ago like the rest of us?" Iruka turned around, a little miffed, to see Kakashi in his mask.

"I had to help the ANBU scan the area for traps with my contract dogs," he pointed to a little cut on his finger.

"Wow, Tsunade-sama is really going all out with security for this wedding," Iruka watched an ANBU wander past the window and disappear.

"Well, some of the strongest shinobi in the village are gathered here unarmed," Kakashi tapped his leg where his kunai pouch would be normally, replaced by dark blue hakama draping down.

"Yeah, I just wasn't expecting this much," he paused a little before continuing, "Do you really intend to wear your mask to the wedding?"

"It'd be no fun if I didn't, now would it?" he smirked and turned to see Naruto enter the staging room.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei," he waved at them as he came down the stairs with a big cheesy grin.

"Wow, it's hard to believe you're getting married already," Iruka laughed a little.

"There's still time to back out, Naruto," Kakashi said in a deadpan tone as he whipped out his copy of Icha Icha Tactics.

"No way, I'm leaving here a married man," Naruto clinched his fist in a gesture of decisiveness.

"Good," Kakashi smirked and closed his book.

"Oh, and Sensei….thanks for bringing that along," he smiled nostalgically at the book.

"I'm sure wherever he is, Jiraiya -sama is smiling and wishing you nothing but the best," Kakashi patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.

"My, you look lovely Hinata-chan," Kurenai smiled motherly.

"Thank you," she smiled, a little embarrassed.

Further down the hall, Hiashi stood closer to the door struggling to keep himself from smiling too noticeably.

"I've never been good with these sort of things, but I want you to know I'm very proud of you," he said somewhat stiffly. "I guess you don't realize what you've got until you give it away," he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Uh uh," she said smiling and shaking her head, "You're not losing a daughter, you're gaining a son." She gave him a hug very carefully.

"Now now, you'll smear your make-up," he smiled and patted her on the back.

"It's my wedding day, so please let me be… a little selfish," she wiped a couple joyful tears away as Kurenai pulled out a touch up kit.

Tsunade approached the short podium that stood below the arbor facing the crowd and kneeled down on the violet cushion provided. From a lantern she ferried a small flame and set an open gas fed torch alight with it.

"Of my many duties as hokage, I take special pride in presiding over jounin weddings. I have known both of these young people for a long time and I truly wish them nothing but the best in their future together. That said, let us begin. Will the parents and the mentors please come forward," she held out her palms, inviting the two sides to enter.

Hiashi stepped out, leading the clan elder and Kurenai, while Kakashi lead out Iruka. Both Hiashi and Kakashi carried unlit candles atop long brass candleholders. The candleholders were about shoulder height with a flat area for the candle quickly tapering into a long shaft with a point at the end. The candles carried the respective clan symbols and were pushed into the ground near the altar.

"Please be seated," Tsunade instructed and the group obeyed with one empty chair on the Hyuuga side for Hinata's mother and three on Naruto's for Jiraiya, Minato and Kushina.

Hinata wrung her hands a little nervously, but Sakura patted her on the shoulder, "You'll be just fine."

"Will the witnesses come forward at this time," Tsunade called out.

Shikamaru and Sakura stepped out and conveyed themselves with a dignified gait to the center platform and knelt before Tsunade.

"Do you both swear to the love the two are about to profess," Tsunade asked.

"Yes, Hokage," the two said in unison.

"Go to your places and deliver your testimony to those gathered here to bear witness to today's ceremony," she responded and the two rose and stood at the corners of the stage.

Sakura was the first to speak, pulling a slip of folded paper out, she opened it and began.

"To all those gathered here, I tell you I have witnessed the love between these two. I have known Hinata since our academy days, and even then she only had eyes for Naruto. She saw and loved him for all the qualities that we as the village have only begun to realize. His kindness and never ending determination won her over in an instant. Though their relationship started abruptly and rather awkwardly, I have seen something magical grow between these two. Naruto has grown to love and care for her as much as she has him, and that is not a trivial thing. Though I was chosen to speak as a witness, I believe we've all been witness to the love they share. I wish them nothing but the best of luck in the future."

The crowd clapped and Sakura performed a low bow before turning to the Hokage approaching and slipping the paper into the slot on the top of a split log. The log was split perfectly in half, with a hinge mounted on the other side and cords around it. The top of each side of the log held a small compartment large enough to hold a folded document. She returned to her place at the corner and stood.

Shikamaru followed suit and produced a sheet of paper of his own and began to read.

"I as well have witnessed their love. The whole village knows about Hinata's feelings, so that goes without saying I suppose. What you may not know about are Naruto's feelings. When the guys have gathered since those two got together we always have to hear Naruto gush about his wonderful bride-to-be ad nauseam. You can really tell he cares about her and loves her deeply, so I can understand. I know first hand that when you find the love of your life, no matter how rough things get, or how much you argue, you wouldn't trade that feeling for the entire world," he finished, giving a little glance to a glowing Tamari. He turned around and placed his paper in the compartment on the log and returned to his position.

The two kneeled at their respective positions.

"Now that the witnesses have spoken without the influence of the two to be married and given their honest testimony, is there anyone who wishes to object to the union of these two? Speak now or forever cast aside your objection," she spoke to a crowd as silent as the tomb.

"Very well. The ceremony will now commence! Will the husband approach?", she called out and two servants opened the door again for Naruto to walk out in a long red cloak with no hood. He walked to Hinata's side of the stage and bowed deeply to Hinata's representatives, his own and then finally settled in front of the Hokage and bowed one last time.

"Now, will the bride come forth?" she called to the opposite side and as the door opened the bright radiance of Hinata in the kimono with a long deep purple cloak stepped forth. Awe passed over the crowd and Naruto's heart nearly skipped a beat. She gracefully made her way along and bowed to Naruto's side, her own and then settled next to Naruto in front of the Hokage.

"Now that everyone is here, we may proceed to the oaths. Naruto, do you take Hinata as your bride, to love, to honor, to be faithful to, and to protect no matter the circumstances for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Naruto's voice was calm and resolved.

"Hinata, do you take Naruto as your husband, to love, to honor, to be faithful to, and to protect no matter the circumstances for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," her voice didn't tremble but for the slight edge of excitement that slipped past her lips.

"The Will of Fire is an important legacy shinobi of the leaf pass down from generation to generation. It binds all who fight for the leaf to each other and to the past, the present, and the future of this village. It is a heritage of love, trust, and teamwork. All these are important cornerstones to a good marriage as well as a village. Please take your places," Tsunade lifted her palms to indicate the positions.

Tsunade stood and moved behind the flame. Hinata and Naruto approached from either side of the torch.

"This torch represents that very same Will of Fire. Each shinobi carries that flame with them, so these two shall light their candles from this source," the two followed direction and lit their candles.

"The Will of Fire fills both these families and it comes from each of their members carrying it onward."

The two lit the candles with their respective clan symbols.

"These two are becoming one today and leaving their old selves behind, but their fire shall not grow dimmer for it. The whole that is created today will surpass the parts that have lived up to this day."

The two witnesses brought forth a tall candle three times the length of either of Hinata's or Naruto's that was hidden before now and held it upright for them. The two lit the larger candle and then blew out their own candle. They each put a hand on the new candle and accepted it together as they gave their single candle to their respective witnesses.

"The Will of Fire does not rest for it is always being passed down from one generation to the next. This last candle," Tsunade produced a small, but stout and well decorated candle from her cloak and set it upon a little pedestal," represents shinobi yet to be that will be inspired in the same way these two have been."

The two lit the small candle acting together with both hands on the candle. The candle gave off a much brighter flame than any of the others.

"It is now time for the final right before they may be officially recognized as one, the seal," Tsunade unwound the log to reveal an inside with two sheets of paper with their names printed on the sheet closest to them. Tsunade produced a kunai and removed the sterile packaging from it. Naruto went first and pricked his finger with the blade and spread the blood to all of his fingertips. Hinata followed suit. After the two were ready, they pressed their hands together and then placed their fingerprints on the sheets of paper. Tsunade took the kunai back and wrapped their hand's together with a cloth laced with just a little antiseptic cream. She then proceeded to reseal the log with its bindings and stood.

"Rise, ninja of the leaf," she commanded the two and they obeyed, small joyous glances passing between them.

"Let it be known that these two are now husband and wife. May their love be fruitful and long lasting," she finished the wedding and the two walked hand in hand towards the door at the bottom of the T. The remainder of the wedding party followed in the opposite order by which they arrived. There were many joyous faces in the crowd and plenty of cheers.

"Hey Moegi," Konohamaru whispered.

"What?" she replied, a little miffed, as the wedding party was still passing and she was caught up in all the wedding excitement.

"What did the Hokage mean by fruitful? Did she get them a fruit of the month kind of thing?"

"Idiot, it means they should have happy lives together and have children one day," Moegi said, ending with stars in her eyes a bit at the thought of the little babies.

"Seems kinda pushy to me," he cradled the back of his head in his hands.

"It's just a hope. Besides, the babies who become ninja have to come from somewhere, so it makes sense she'd want more babies," she explained it to him in a way that wasn't wholly accurate to the Hokage's feelings, but she knew that he wasn't convinced that babies weren't a great thing in and of themselves.

"Whatever, I wouldn't want any brats running around."

"Who'd marry you in the first place idiot?" she almost raised her voice a little.

Ebisu tapped them on the shoulder, " We should show some restraint, we are at a wedding after all."

"Sorry sensei," they both bowed.

"Good," he adjusted his glasses.

The reception was held in what was normally a large training hall that adjoined the wedding space. On the opposite side of the hall was another patch of garden that was opened as spillover space and so that if guests preferred they could enjoy talking outside. The doors were opened wide on either side allowing the cool spring breeze to waft in and out with the aroma of flowers in full bloom. At one end of the room was a round table and two long tables flanking it at an angle making a concave shape facing the room. The bride and groom took their seats at the center table , while the rest of the wedding party and the guests found their places.

The food was very traditional with dishes like konbu soup and sea bream. Naruto, almost suggested ramen, but when he saw how excitedly Hinata and Sakura were picking things out, he left it at that. Besides, he had gotten used to the food at the Hyuuga residence. Hiashi wouldn't have his son in law living in the tiny little apartment he was in, so shortly after the engagement he moved him into one of the guest houses on the property. Naruto almost objected at the sudden move, but realized he'd get to be closer to Hinata every day and quickly dropped any ideas of opposing Hiashi. The food and the atmosphere as well as Hinata's gentle prodding and guidance toward refining him a bit had left him with a calmer demeanor, though he was still Naruto and he would throw the new family for a loop every once in a while to the confounding of Hiashi and the delight and laughter of Hinata. This calmer spirit gave some of the villagers chills as he began to more and more resemble his father in terms of deportment in addition to his appearance as he had started growing his hair out a bit more.

The meal finished, it was time to have some speeches by the two sides of the family now joined by the couple now starting to lean in on each other from their already close position with the aura of pure bliss that even the back of the room could feel. Kakashi stood first.

"When I first met Naruto, he was an absolute mess," Kakashi began.

"Hey!" Naruto laughed a little as he interrupted his teacher.

"Yare yare, if you're going to heckle me all the way through I might as well sit down," he turned toward Naruto.

"No, please continue," Hinata smiled, "I'll make sure my husband is on his best behavior." She rubbed his hand and gave him a peck on his cheek.

"Alright then. Like I was saying, Naruto was a complete mess when I met him, but I knew the Fourth, my sensei, wouldn't forgive me if I let his son down."

Mild surprise fell over some of the audience, but most didn't seem in the least bit shocked.

"I'm glad that wasn't much of a shock. If it was, I'd be afraid for the village's future, heh. We decided now would be the best time to reveal officially Naruto's parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, so that we could give them proper praise for leaving the village with such a gift as Naruto. Though they and Master Jiraiya couldn't be with us tonight, I know they are with us in spirit as we celebrate the love that these two share. I have never seen Naruto happier, even that time when Ichiraku had an all you can eat deal. It took all of Team 7 to pry him away from the seat. Enough embarrassing stories though, I'm really glad Naruto has found someone in which we can all place our trust and someone that gives him such joy. I wish you two nothing but the best, and I mean that."

A loud round of applause was heard and Kakashi took his seat. Hiashi stood and the guests quieted back down.

"Today is a day all parents hope for their children. I knew the Fourth, and I'm sure he's as proud as I to see these two love each other so dearly and for Naruto to find such peace in this village and with my daughter. He may not be perfect, but he is perfect for my daughter. As a child she was very timid, but she admired him very much for his determination, courage and confidence. As she grew I could see that shy nature slowly fade away until the confident and strong woman you see before you emerged. It is hard to believe the same little one I held in my arms so long ago has grown up and married. It won't be long now until you'll have children of your own and I hope you'll know the happiness I feel right now," he smiled gently. The young husband and wife looked at each other with a slight pink in their cheeks.

A similar round of applause followed Hiashi's speech.

"With that, we're ready for the final two events," Sakura smiled, "Could we have all the women yet to marry gather outside. Men, if you will prepare in the same fashion."

The women gathered outside and Hinata and Naruto followed them. Shikamaru and Sakura handed back the candles from the ceremony that represented their individual lives. Hinata prepared to toss the candle to the young women gathered to her back when a dark figure flickered into the scene and landed out into the field between the men and the women. Slowly the figure came into focus and started to approach.

"Sorry I'm late, but they've got me working like a dog lately and this mission ran into overtime," he smirked.

"Glad you could make it," Naruto smiled at the presence of his old friend..

"Now go on and get with the other bachelors," Sakura gently nudged him into the group of men before joining the women. Sasuke tacitly accepted her guidance.

The two lifted their candles aloft.

"One…Two… Three!" they tossed the candles with their backs to the crowd.

Hinata's landed squarely in Sakura's hands to her surprise and delight.

Naruto's bounced a few times, came down to Sasuke who instinctively caught it before it struck his head even though he really wasn't trying to catch it. The crowd spread a little bit to see that the two had caught it.

"Looks like you're next Sasuke," Naruto laughed and smacked him on the back.

"Don't start…" he glared a little at Naruto.

The women's crowd separated to reveal Sakura holding the candle in her hands. Their eyes met and Sasuke hid the candle to which Naruto quickly revealed to Sakura who had caught it by pointing in a very obvious way.

"Dobe…" he got irritated with Naruto's teasing.

"Looks like we've got the next marriage right here," Naruto called to Hinata.

"So it would seem darling," they laughed a little and walked off to meet the guests at the front gate.

"Are you getting superstitious on me now?" Sakura teased Sasuke a little.

"Not at all, I just caught a candle, it doesn't mean anything," he scoffed in his usual slightly arrogant tone.

"Shall we elope or do you want to talk it over and have a full wedding?" Sakura poked him.

Sasuke's eyes got a little big, but he calmed and smirked a little.

"I think we should have a big wedding. If Naruto isn't going to let me live this down, then I should at least do it with style," he calmly responded and started to walk forward to catch up with the newlyweds.

"Don't tease me like that," Sakura socked him in the arm gently as she caught up.

"What goes around comes around.," he spoke, then leaned down to whisper in her ear," Oh, and who said I was kidding?"

Sakura stood in stunned silence for a second.

"Come on," we waved with his back to her to catch up ,"we'll attract more unwanted attention if we hang around much longer."

"Okay, but we don't tell anyone until after they come back from their honeymoon."

"Of course. This is Naruto's day. I've got more tact than that."

"Good," she crossed her arms and they walked briskly toward the gate. Tenten, who had been just in earshot of those two laughed to herself.

"Seems like everyone's getting married all of a sudden. I wonder if I'll be next," she watched their backs disappear.

"Come on, or we'll be late to see them off," Negi waved her along and they set off together.

The newlyweds waved goodbye as the guests pelted them with rice. Naruto started to help Hinata into the carriage when a voice called out.

"Naruto-chan!" Granny toad called.

"What is it?" they climbed down off the carriage for the moment.

Granny toad made some quick hand signs and Gamakichi and Gamatatsu appeared holding a couple of jars. One was red with a male sign and one was purple with a female sign.

"Here take these," they handed them the ceramic jars, "and make sure to read the letter before you go to bed tonight.

"Uh thanks Granny."

"Thank you Elder Toad." Hinata said not knowing the contents of the container.

"You kids have a nice time, okay?"

"Sure thing!"

"Mhm"

The two climbed into the carriage and rode off saying goodbye.

"What does the letter say?" Hinata asked as the cart was moving away from the gates.

Naruto unfolded it. In big bold letters it read "Fertility grubs, eat them quick because they will sour by next week!"

The two looked down at the pots and then at each other. They smiled and laughed a little until Hinata leaned her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. The two sighed in happiness and they rode off with the clip clop of the horses giving a an almost fairy tale feel.

Okay, next I'm going to do the epilogue. If you have any stories you'd like for me to explore in it, please leave a review for me and I'll see what I can get to. I hope you've enjoyed the story!


	31. Journey's End, Journey's Beginning

Disclaimer: Nobody asked for anyone's story in particular, so I'm going to kind of finish up the way I think is important. Again, I don't own Naruto.

Naruto knelt down in the foyer of the quaint little house that made for his love nest with his new bride, sat down on the step leading into the living room facing the door and began to peel away the boots that were soaked in the sweat of a three day hunt for a rogue ninja.

"Let's see… Hinata's out on that mission for the next few days, so I think I'll go see if Kiba or Shikamaru are busy." he finished and plopped them in their normal location. He stretched his arms up and twisted them to work out the kinks that had developed on the trip home. He felt two arms wrap around his chest from behind.

"Welcome home," Hinata smiled and eased his fear.

"What are you doing home?" he asked, surprised to see her.

"They pulled me from the mission," she smiled almost coyly.

"Why? You're not hurt are you?" he looked her up and down.

"No," she almost laughed, "but it was a medical reason."

"You're not sick are you?" he felt her forehead.

"MM-mm," she shook her head.

"Then what happened?" he looked at her a bit confused. She pulled out from behind him, grabbed one of his hands and placed it on her abdomen.

"They don't want to risk losing a future shinobi," she said and stroked his arm gently. For a second, Naruto still seemed confused, but it slowly dawned on him and his face lit up like fireworks in a clear July sky.

"You're-" he pointed.

"Mm-hmm"

"That means I'm-"

"Mm-hmm"

"When?"

"Oh they're still seven months away. I'm not even showing yet," she rubbed her belly.

"Wait, 'they're'?" he questioned.

"Oops, let that one slip. I didn't want to get your hopes up, but Sakura said she wasn't sure, but she thought she sensed twins when she was looking, but it is way too early to tell for sure."

"Wow," he was taken aback.

"I haven't told anyone yet. I wanted to wait until you got back, so Sakura is the only one who knows. She's probably just about to burst if we don't say something soon. She was so happy for us."

"We should go tell everyone!" he grabbed her and pulled her up excitedly.

"Woah," she was caught off guard by his sudden pull.

"I'm sorry. Did I pull you up too hard? I need to be more careful." he looked scared.

"It's okay I'm fine. I'm not that far in that I'm that fragile, though I would appreciate you getting used to being a bit more gentle for when I get big." she laughed a bit.

"You've got it," he kissed her and they stepped out the door to spread the good news.

"Alright, dismissed," Tsunade signaled for the group of ninjas to go.

"Granny!" Naruto could hardly contain himself as he blew through the departing group.

"Calm down a bit will you?" she rubbed her temples. "Oh, hello Hinata," she seemed a bit happier to see Hinata.

"How can I? I'm going to be a father! Isn't that great?" he was so excited people could hear him in the hall.

"Yes, I know. Congratulations. Sakura had to tell me, but I haven't said anything to anyone about it yet," she smiled and rested her head on tented fingers.

"Thank you," Hinata gave a little bow.

"You're not the only one expecting though," she smirked.

"Who else?"

"My lips are sealed"

"There's no way I could be… We've been too careful. It wouldn't hurt though to know for sure.," Sakura took a pregnancy test from the drawer. and put a label on the back.

"I'm taking a short break. I'll be back in a moment nurse," she waved at the attending nurse.

"Understood Ma'am" she waved back.

Sakura took the test and returned to her offices with the test hidden.

"You have a patient waiting in room three ma'am" the attending nurse updated her.

"Okay," she slipped in and set her test out of the way.

"What seems to be the matter?" she looked at the clipboard.

"Oh, my arm has been cramping up lately. I've tried everything I can to help it, but I don't know what to do," she extended her arm a bit.

Sakura manipulated her arm a bit.

"I see," Sakura ran her hand over the patient's arm and began to heal the problem spot.

"Looks like someone is going to be a mom, though I guess you couldn't tell me who" the patient managed to see the test.

"What?" Sakura finished and ran over to the test. Her eyes must be deceiving her. This wasn't possible.

"I'll… just show myself out," the shinobi with her healed arm snuck out of the room.

Two green eyes blinked with great effort at the pages of the book as she sat on her father's lap. His voice calmed her and she struggled to stay awake. Her finger was braced thoughtfully to her lips as if deep in thought.

"And the little pony found her friends again, and they laughed and played the rest of their days in the wonderful little pony valley," he finished and slowly closed the book to which his daughters head dropped to the side and she was fast asleep. He picked her up and carried her to the crib and tucked her in.

"We made a pretty good kid," Temari hugged Shikamaru from behind.

"Yeah," he smiled and watched the gentle breathing of their little child.

Just as they had stopped to enjoy the fruits of parenthood, a knock came at the door.

"I'll get it," Shikamaru drew up his wife's hand and kissed it softly.

"I'll be there in a minute," she slid over to let him by and watch their little one coo and wriggle.

"Shh, Chiyo is sleeping," he raised his finger to his lips. "What brings you here?" he looked at the two, who were wearing smiles as big as Gamabunta by now, curiously.

"We're going to be parents too," they clasped their hands tightly together.

"Congratulations." he said surprised.

"How far along are you?" Temari, who had overheard the conversation on her way over, asked.

"Oh, only a couple months along, but we're really excited."

"Well, come on in," he motioned them inside.

They all headed in and sat down in the living room.

"Do you have any questions about anything?" Temari asked.

"Not right now. I'm just really coming to grips with the fact that I'm going to be a mom," Hinata smiled.

"Well, don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions. It was hard on us, but we got through my pregnancy with Chiyo together and we learned a lot of things, so I'm glad to help."

"The only thing that really worries me is that I might be carrying twins," she squeezed Naruto's hand.

"Wow, that's going to be a handful," Temari said as she sat down.

"Especially if they take after their old man," Shikamaru smirked and was tapped in the shoulder lightly by Temari.

"Oh come on, I wasn't that bad," he awkwardly laughed and rubbed the back of his head. As he finished he looked over at his loving wife and a warm glow shot up around them as they smiled at one another.

"I wonder if they can even hear us right now…" Shikamaru whispered to Temari, to which she almost snickered and pulled closer to him.

"So have you made "The List" yet?" Temari directed at Hinata who seemed to just wake up from a good dream.

"What list?" she looked at her puzzled.

"The list of things you'll need to get or get done before the baby comes. I know it's early, but the sooner you get it done the easier it'll be on you later when you aren't as mobile," she snuck in beside Shikamaru.

"Well at least make the list. It'll help picking up odds and ends after the shower and making the whole thing a lot less troublesome," he smirked.

"I'll be glad to help you get started," Temari smiled, "I know Sakura probably gave you some things, but you really don't know what you're getting into until you've had one of your own."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it," she gained a tiny bit of worry, but she was so happy and knew of all the support she'd have that it diminished.

Chiyo started crying a little from the other room.

Shikamaru got up to go take care of her.

"Hey, Naruto come here," he called from the other room.

"Have you ever changed a diaper before?" he asked as Naruto entered the room.

"No, it hasn't ever come up," he scratched his head.

"Well you're going to have to learn, especially with twins on the way," he set Chiyo on the changing station, First, you need to have everything ready and at your fingertips. Kinda like packing for a mission. We keep ours at an easy reach for us, but out of Chiyo's. Next, you need to have a new diaper ready underneath the old one in case she goes while you're changing her. Any questions so far?"

"Not really, seems pretty straightforward," he made a funny face that made Chiyo laugh.

"I'll give you a list later as to what all you need, but for now here comes the tricky part."

Temari and Hinata had snuck in behind them and were peeking in from the doorway as the lesson continued.

"I think he'll be a fine dad for those kids. I just hope you'll have the energy to deal with them if they have his temperament," she patted her on the shoulder.

"That's what energetic husbands are for," she laughed.

"There, all done," he handed her off to a surprised Naruto who cradled her the best he could with some guidance from the Nara.

She reached up with her little hands and touched the whisker marks on Naruto's face. Her hands slid down as she yawned as she slipped back into sleep. Naruto felt his heart almost skip a beat at the cute little one reaching for him and sleeping so peacefully.

"And that is what lifts you up after a long day of keeping up with them. I've had rough days, but when I come home to see that little girl and she smiles up at me I can't help but be amazed at every little coo. It's some kind of magic."

"Let's put her in the crib Naruto and we'll head back to the other room," Temari guided him down and tucked her in.

The parents and the parents to be talked about pregnancy tips and other things for a while.

Seven months later an exhausted Hinata viewed her two children, one boy and one girl. They looked at each other and then down at their little bundles of joy. The journey of pregnancy had drawn to a close, but the new journey of parenthood awaited them and their two little ones just around the bend. They named them after Naruto's parents.

Sasuke and Sakura had their child not too long afterwards and the three grew up together and became great friends. The child was named Itachi.

Naruto eventually became hokage and through much effort Sasuke became the head of ANBU. Shikamaru became Jonin commander and later had a son.

Naruto had another child and Sakura and Sasuke brought the Uchiha count up to five, including mom and dad.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this story. I might write a little thing here or there about the future of this universe or I might not. If you have any questions feel free to ask me in a review. Sayonara


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